


Man without memories

by Chansick



Category: iKON (Korea Band)
Genre: Angst, Character Development, Drama, Emotional Hurt, Forbidden Love, Friendship, Gen, M/M, Memory Loss, Mystery, Pining, Plot Twists, Some scenes are a little fluff tho, Suspense, Swearing, The relationships are mainly friendship, Violence, character injury
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-04-21
Packaged: 2019-04-07 08:52:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 44,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14077296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chansick/pseuds/Chansick
Summary: One night Kim Donghyuk finds himself standing alone on a rainy road and realizes that he can't remember who he is or where he is coming from. After he is found and taken home by his step brother, Donghyuk's life starts to build itself back around him. But as he later starts to find out bits about his past, he comes to realize that he is part of someone else's bigger plans and learns that not everyone should be trusted.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! This fanfic is cross posted on aff, and it is my child. I've been sort of(?) inspired by a drama called Remember when I came up with the story. Hope you'll enjoy the ride :)  
> English is not my first language so I may have made some mistakes along the way. I'm still doing my best ( ･ὢ･ )

It’s like being asleep without dreaming. You know you might have seen something, but you only remember the nothingness. In case it was a nightmare, you are glad that you don’t remember what there could’ve been before you woke up. But sometimes you can’t help but wonder what you experienced when you were asleep.

 

For him, the thing waking him up from something like a dreamless sleep was a sound of tires screeching on a road. His alarm was the bright light that approached him, then passed him.

 _That was definitely a car_ , he thought to himself. It was his first clear thought.

It took him a moment before he started realizing other things as well. The next thing he took a notice of was the rain and that he was soaked all over. Some strands of hair were glued onto his face, and he realized that he couldn’t see well. He raised both of his hands to his face and then swiped them up his head, lifting his wet hair from blocking his vision. He saw his hands and stared at them in confusion.

He didn’t look up until another car passed him. The boy turned his head to both ways to realize he was on a road. It was night and he was standing next to a street light. He was in the middle of the right side lane, in a pouring rain, all alone. He looked down at himself, noticing the clothes he was wearing; a black t-shirt and red shorts, both glued to his skin. He wasn’t wearing any shoes, the boy stood on the dark asphalt barefoot with small scratches all over his feet and legs. He hugged himself tightly as he noticed how cold he was, looking around for anything that could help him understand the situation.

It was a highway, he noticed as he saw cars driving past on a further lane. The cars driving to the other direction, on the lane where he was, were passing by him without stopping or even slowing down.

He couldn’t remember which direction he was going or where he was coming from. All he could think about was that he wanted to get somewhere safe from the rain.

 

He couldn’t reason how long he had walked after getting his head somehow straight. But after some time of walking on a side of the road to nowhere in particular, he was stopped by a short whistle and he saw flashing lights of blue and red. He turned around to see a car behind him and then two men in police vests stepped out.

‘’You know this isn’t a road for walking, right?’’

The boy didn’t respond. All he could do was to stare at the two officers as they walked closer.

‘’Where are you going at this weather anyway? Don’t you have any more clothes?’’

He finally opened his mouth, his full body shaking from cold and fear.

 

‘’H-help… me,’’ he whispered barely audibly, ‘’I… c-can’t remember… w-who I am.’’

 

 

By the time he was lead into the police station he was still dripping wet. At least he got into a shelter of a sort, he thought while looking around at the people inside. As they got at the end of the hallway, he found himself in a big room with several tables and chairs. He was then seated in at one of the tables before one of the officers walked up to a man at the end of the room wearing a blue dress shirt.

‘’Found him wandering on a highway,’’ he could hear the officer saying. ‘’He claims he can’t remember anything, not even his own name. Probably on drugs.’’

The man in a blue shirt turned to look at him, and the boy lowered his head hugging himself tighter. He could then hear footsteps approaching but kept his eyes on the surface of the table in front of him. When the man sat down across the table, the boy slowly lifted his gaze to his face. He had a short dark hair, a small mustache and stubble. He had a white badge on his shirt. _Police Chief Lee Min Woo_ , it read _._ His eyes gazed at the boy observingly, as he was still unable to control his shaking body, small sounds escaping his throat from time to time.

‘’Hey, hey, what’s this?’’ the chief asked turning to look at the other officer. ‘’Why aren’t you getting him something to warm up? Do you want him to faint on the spot?’’

‘’Huh? Ah, yes,’’ the police man from behind him said and he could hear him walking away.

‘’So,’’ Mr. Lee then began, turning his attention back on the trembling boy, ‘’you say you’re having some sort of a memory loss, huh?’’

He gave a short nod. ‘’Y-yes, sir.’’ Then he could feel something on his shoulders, and after he recognized it as a blanket he quickly wrapped it tightly around himself, feeling the warmth the thick fabric provided him.

‘’Do you need anything else than that?’’ the man asked.

‘’Dry c-clothes… please.’’

Mr. Lee nodded his head. ‘’Alright, I can do that. But first, I’d like you to answer some questions I have for you. Deal?’’

He nodded.

‘’What’s your name?’’

‘’I don’t know, sir.’’

‘’You don’t know?’’ the man asked. ‘’Do you have an ID? Anything with you?’’

He shook his head.

The police chief sighed. ‘’Fine, then. Where were you heading to when my men found you?’’

‘’I… don’t know, sir,’’ he replied, this time thinking for a little longer.

‘’Home address?’’

‘’I don’t know, sir.’’

‘’Guardian?’’

He shook his head again.

Mr. Lee was quiet for a moment. He then brought his elbows on the table, looking at him deep in the eyes. ‘’What’s the last thing you remember, then?’’

‘’Earlier…’’ he said while thinking carefully, ‘’at the road.’’

‘’That’s where your memories begin?’’ Mr. Lee asked and the boy nodded in response. ‘’It's not like you've done drugs recently by chance?’’

‘’I don’t remember…’’ he answered.

‘’Sir! There are no reported accidents near the area he was found,’’ an officer called and Mr. Lee sighed.

‘’Well, you didn’t seem very injured anyway…’’ he muttered.

The boy stayed quiet, wrapping the blanket around himself tighter and lowering his eyes.

‘’It’s nothing like you’re just pretending to be this way, right?’’

Mr. Lee didn’t get an answer, as the boy's eyes spotted something on one of the walls in the room. Without a word, he got up and walked over to the mirror inspecting the face he saw on it. A young man looked back at him, with a wet brown hair and dark eyes. He brought his other hand up, touching his cheek, his small lips, his nose. The face didn’t look familiar to him. _Who does that face belong to?_

Behind him, Police chief Lee looked at him inquiringly with narrowed eyes.

 

 

Mr. Lee kept his promise. Despite the lack of information he could give the police chief the boy received some dry clothes he could change into. And he also got to keep the blanket. He was locked up, though. Not that he minded actually, since there was nowhere for him to go.

He was put in a cell with some drunken men who were luckily all passed out by the time he got in. It didn’t stop the smell that reeked from them, but the boy couldn’t find the energy to be bothered. He stayed there sitting on the floor, wrapped in the blanket and leaning his head against a white barred. He stared down at his still bare and obviously cold feet, rubbing them together lightly. _They should’ve given me some shoes_ , he thought to himself, _or even a pair of slippers. Socks would’ve been nice too._

He didn’t know how much later, but still during the same night, he was awakened from his confused thoughts by a sound of sneakers squeaking against the floor.

‘’Donghyuk!’’  a male voice called but the boy didn’t react until he could see someone crouching down right beside him.

‘’Are you okay?’’ a man at around his age asked with worry painted all over his face.

He looked at him confusedly, then behind himself in case the stranger was talking to someone else. He turned back at the guy, pointing at himself, ‘’A-are you talking to me..?’’

‘’Wait just a second,’’ the man asked before getting up and turning towards the office. ‘’Hey, somebody come get him out! I’m his guardian!’’

He got up from the floor staring at the stranger confusedly. ‘’Who are you?’’

‘’It’s me, Yunhyeong,’’ the man said as he turned back towards the boy, ‘’Your step brother.’’

 

 

‘’You see, Donghyuk suffers from a severe memory disorder. It can be controlled with medication, but sometimes he forgets to take it and in worst occasions it can lead into something like this. It’s actually my fault, since I’m supposed to make sure he takes his pills,’’ Yunhyeong explained as the officer inspected the ID the other had brought. ‘’It’s my mistake and I take full responsibility for it.’’

‘’Oh well, don’t worry about it too much, son,’’ the police officer said, ‘’since no big harm has happened here.  Both of you were lucky that he was found.’’

Yunhyeong bowed his head.

‘’It seems you’re good to go now,’’ the man nodded his head.‘’Just sign this and you can leave.’’

Yunhyeong took the pen and signed at the bottom of some paper before turning towards the confused boy and handing him the pen. He took it feeling unsure, and then leaned over to write his name before stopping.

‘’Donghyuk..?’’ he asked, turning his head towards the other man.

Yunhyeong gave a small smile as he nodded. ‘’Yes. Kim Donghyuk.’’

After he had written the name with simple characters he straightened up and looked at Yunhyeong who nodded at him once again. ‘’Let’s go home,’’ he said and turned towards the hallway. He took a few steps after Yunhyeong before hearing a voice calling for him. As he turned around, he saw the police chief Lee leaning against a table with a cup of coffee in his hand.

‘’Look after yourself,’’ the man said and gave a short nod of his head.

Donghyuk bowed at him before turning around to catch up with Yunhyeong.

‘’How did you know I was here?’’ he asked carefully.

‘’Someone gave a hint,’’ Yunhyeong shrugged his shoulders. ‘’You don’t have to worry about that.’’

Yunhyeong stepped out of the building but Donghyuk stopped at the entrance, biting his lips nervously. The other man noticed and turned at him with a questioning face.

‘’I… uh…’’ Donghyuk stuttered and looked down at his bare feet. It was still raining outside, and what he wanted the least was to walk on the cold asphalt once again. Maybe he could go back and ask for something…

‘’Wow, they didn’t even give you shoes?’’ Yunhyeong asked sounding baffled and when Donghyuk lifted his gaze he saw the other walking over to him and removing his sneakers. ‘’Put these on. We have the same shoe size,’’ he said.

‘’But…’’ Donghyuk began, but Yunhyeong had already turned to walk down the police station stairs wearing just his socks. He looked how the other walked over to a black car parked at the end of the stairs, and a man in a black suit opened the door for him. Yunhyeong turned back to him and then nodded his head towards the vehicle. Donghyuk slid his feet into the sneakers – secretly appreciating the heavenly feeling of them – and then walked down the stairs after the other.

He glanced at the suited man who apparently had no trouble with standing in the rain and waiting for him to get in. Donghyuk got to the back seat and the door was closed behind him.

‘’Who’s that?’’ he asked the man sitting next to him.

‘’That’s Mr. Han,’’ Yunhyeong replied, ‘’our driver.’’

He nodded his head, then lowered his gaze onto his lap. Yunhyeong didn’t speak up until the car started and began driving away from the station.

‘’Honestly,’’ he began, rubbing his forehead, ‘’I feel so shitty right now. It’s all my fault. I should have been more precise with you.’’

‘’It’s... alright,’’ Donghyuk answered quietly. Soon he saw from the corner of his eye how Yunhyeong turned to look at him.

‘’I’m really sorry. You must’ve been really confused,’’ he said. Donghyuk lifted his gaze again, meeting Yunhyeong’s sympathetic eyes.

‘’A little…’’ he answered carefully. He didn’t want Yunhyeong to feel guilty. Even though he didn’t know him, or more like didn’t remember knowing him, he could still tell that Yunhyeong still cared about him a lot. It felt strange, to be honest. Donghyuk cleared his throat before speaking again.

‘’You’re my… step brother?’’

Yunhyeong nodded, ‘’Same father.’’

‘’I’m sorry for not remembering you.’’

The other man turned his body towards Donghyuk frowning a little. ‘’Hey, don’t be sorry. It’s not your fault at all, Donghyuk. And you don’t have to worry, either. I’ll help you recover, I promise. Chanwoo will also do his best, I’m sure of it,’’ Yunhyeong smiled.

‘’Chanwoo?’’

‘’Your other step brother. He’s waiting for us at home right now. Poor thing was really worried about you.’’

Donghyuk nodded his head, moving his eyes from Yunhyeong’s while scratching his own palm anxiously. ‘’This is not the first time we are having this kind of conversation, right?’’

‘’Donghyuk…’’ the other said with a pitiful sounding voice, ‘’I already told you it’s alright. Please don’t make me feel even worse about this. Trust me, everything is going to be alright.’’

‘’Okay…’’ Donghyuk answered quietly, staring down at his lap. After a while of silence, he saw Yunhyeong’s hand landing onto his. He looked at him again, and felt a weird warmness from the other’s smile.

‘’Do you trust me?’’ Yunhyeong asked softly.

The question made him blink his eyes in confusion. Did he really trust the person he had just ‘met’ ten minutes ago? It was obvious that for Yunhyeong it wasn’t their first meeting, according to the way he only looked at him. Aside from the fact that the man had the proper papers to proof Donghyuk’s identity, the way he treated him made him feel safe. Yunhyeong indeed felt like a brother and Donghyuk knew that he wasn’t in danger.  
  
 He smiled faintly and lowered his gaze before nodding his head slowly, ‘’Yeah.’’

‘’Good,’’ his step brother said and pulled his hand back onto his own lap. ‘’Are you hungry?’’

Donghyuk bit his lip before bringing his other hand on his stomach. He had no idea when he had had his last meal, but he knew for sure it had been a very long time ago. ‘’Yes,’’ he admitted. ‘’I’m starving.’’

‘’Thought so. Just hang in there for a little while, we’ve prepared you a huge meal at home,’’ Yunhyeong smiled.

 

Donghyuk came to realize that his family was apparently a wealthy one, at least based on the house they were driven to (not forgetting about the fact that they had an own driver). As he got inside a huge living room with elegant furniture, Donghyuk looked around in awe.

‘’Is this… where I live?’’ he asked as Yunhyeong walked up beside him.

‘’Yeah, the three of us. Are you really that surprised?’’

‘’A little…’’ Donghyuk admitted, looking around the room again before hearing footsteps from the nearby staircase.

‘’You’re back?’’ a voice called before a young man stepped into his view. He looked noticeably lot like Yunhyeong, but with rounder cheeks and taller figure. The guy looked at him worriedly as he walked closed. ‘’Donghyuk, are you okay?’’

‘’He’s fine,’’ Yunhyeong answered for him, ‘’just a little confused right now.’’

‘’How much do you remember?’’

Donghyuk looked over at Yunhyeong who shook his head at the other guy.

‘’Dammit,’’ the boy brought his hand up to run it across his hair, ‘’I was scared that this would happen.’’

‘’Are you, by chance, Chanwoo?’’ Donghyuk asked carefully. The guy nodded his head, ‘’Yeah, Yunhyeong must’ve told you.’’

‘’I’m sorry for forgetting you… and also for making you worried,’’ he then said sheepishly making Chanwoo blink his eyes in confusion.

‘’Ah… N-no, you shouldn’t be saying that,’’ he uttered and waved his hands. ‘’We are supposed to look after you, so I’m more at fault.’’

‘’Guys,’’ Yunhyeong called with a sigh. ‘’We can spend the rest of the night here apologizing and taking responsibilities, but what if we just focus on the positive? Donghyuk is alive and well, and now back home.’’ He brought his hand up to pat Donghyuk on the back with a warm smile. ‘’Everything is alright now. Therefore, Chanwoo, go and put the food ready. I’ll take him to his room where he can change.’’

 

 

He took a careful look at himself from a full-length mirror as he stood in front of it in much more comfortable clothes and soft and comfy slippers. He looked much better than earlier at the police station. His face, however, was still unfamiliar. Donghyuk wondered if it happened often, that he forgot everything about himself on regular basis. How frustrating could that be? Was it perhaps not Yunhyeong’s first time to pick him up at the police station and introduce himself like a stranger?

Donghyuk brushed his thoughts off with a heavy sigh before turning around to take a better look at his room. Just like the living room, it was huge. In the middle there was a king-size bed, and at the corner he saw a table surrounded by shelves full of books. On the other side of the room there was a door to his very own bathroom. Donghyuk walked over to the table, his eyes casting onto a notebook placed in the middle of it. He opened the cover, scrolling through the pages full of random drafts and doodles. He then looked up at the shelves, eyes scanning through the book names.

‘’You really like reading,’’ a voice told, making Donghyuk stir a bit. Yunhyeong was at his door leaning against the frame. He had also changed his clothes, he noticed. Instead of a pair of jeans, Yunhyeong was now wearing black shorts and a t-shirt of the same color. The man gave him a smile before walking in the room, hands casually in his pockets.

‘’It seems like it,’’ Donghyuk said and shrugged his shoulders. He closed the notebook before looking at Yunhyeong. ‘’My memories... Is it possible for them to return?’’

‘’Of course, it’s possible,’’ the other answered with a small nod.

‘’Something like this has happened before, right..?’’

Yunhyeong sighed as he walked over to the other. ‘’How many times do I have to tell you not to worry about it, huh? If you just let me try to make it up to you… I’ll take extra good care of you and your medication and help you to get back to normal life. If you do things you used to, it’ll help you recover.’’

‘’Okay…’’ Donghyuk ran his hand through his hair. ‘’I guess you’re right.’’

‘’I know I am,’’ Yunhyeong said smiling again before grabbing the other gently by the arm. ‘’Let’s go quickly. I don’t want you to starve to death.’’

 

Donghyuk couldn’t stop his eyes from widening a bit a bit as he saw the dining table that was waiting for him. Along with a huge bowl of rice, the table was full of several plates of side dishes. More than he could possibly even eat.

‘’Sit down, hyung,’’ Chanwoo said beckoning towards the chair in front of him.

‘’Aren’t you guys eating?’’ Donghyuk asked as he hesitantly took a seat.

‘’We’ve eaten for today already. Don’t worry about us and just eat,’’ Yunhyeong said with a small nod.

Donghyuk turned back towards the table. He slowly picked up the spoon as he was still staring at all the food set in front of him. After his first mouthful of rice, however, all that bafflement was long forgotten as he realized how hungry he actually was. Donghyuk soon forgot about everything else as well, as he devoured the food as much as he could, not acknowledging the two leaving the room in order to let him eat in peace.

 

 

‘’Are you sleeping?’’ Yunhyeong’s voice asked as the man peeked into his room. Donghyuk was sitting on his bed with crossed legs, looking up at the other as he woke up from his thoughts.

‘’No, but I probably should… since it’s really late and all,’’ he replied with a shrug of shoulders and glanced at the digital clock on the night stand which told him that it was already over 2 AM.

Yunhyeong stepped inside the room and walked over to him, holding a glass of water in his other hand and a small white cup in the other.

‘’Yeah, you’re really tired, right?’’ he smiled before handing him the cup. ‘’But before I leave you alone, you should take your evening medicine.’’

Donghyuk took the bluish pill into his hand, and after a moment of curious staring at it, he put it in his mouth and swallowed with a sip of water from the glass.

‘’Let’s hope you won’t get sick during the night,’’ Yunhyeong said as Donghyuk placed the glass on the night stand. ‘’You might catch a cold, according to where the police found you today.’’

Donghyuk pressed his head down as if in shame. ‘’I’m still sorry for tonight.’’

‘’You…’’ Yunhyeong sighed and reached over to ruffle his hair lightly. ‘’Stop apologizing. And in case you get sick, you have me here to take care of you. You’re lucky, you know?’’

Donghyuk smiled as he looked up at Yunhyeong's smirking face. ‘’Alright, then,’’ he said with a nod.

‘’Sleep well,’’ Yunhyeong said as he patted the other’s head and then turned away towards the door.

‘’Yunhyeong?’’

‘’Huh?’’

‘’How long have I had this… disorder?’’

Yunhyeong’s eyes casted down on the floor for a moment. ‘’A few years,’’ he said with a small shrug. ‘’Not that it matters, right?’’ He walked to the door and turned off the light. ‘’Good night.’’

‘’Night.’’

The door was then closed and Donghyuk took a deep sigh. He looked around in his room for a while before he finally got up to move the covers to slide into the bed. The light on the beside table was still on, but he decided to leave it that way. Donghyuk turned onto his side, pulling the covers up so that he was completely hidden under them excluding his eyes and above.

The bed was really soft, he noticed. It felt like being inside of a mushy cloud. He closed his eyes, and not so intentionally, he drifted to sleep within seconds.


	2. Chapter 2

Donghyuk spent the following day in bed.

The first time he had woken up was some time in the morning when Yunhyeong came to check up on him. The other had been right; he had indeed got sick. Donghyuk’s throat was sore and he could barely manage to make a sound, his head felt like a giant stone and keeping his eyes open felt like an impossible task. Yunhyeong had told him to rest, and that he would let him sleep as soon as he had taken his morning medication. Donghyuk had taken a notice of the pill being a red one this time, not that it mattered, though.

Yunhyeong woke him up for the second time several hours later, when the day was already turning into an evening. As Donghyuk had been in a little better condition, the other had brought him some food. It turned out that the soup he was served in bed was made by Yunhyeong himself. ‘’I rarely cook these days, but today I felt like making an exception,’’ the other had said. He had stayed with Donghyuk as he ate, talking about some casual topics. It had been nice, despite how tired Donghyuk had still been. The food had tasted delicious, too. However, he had fallen back asleep already before Yunhyeong had closed the door as he had left the room once again.

 

‘’I really don’t want to be overly worried, but are you alright?’’ Yunhyeong’s voice infiltrated his sleep, and Donghyuk opened his eyes slowly to see the other sitting next to him on the mattress, head slightly tilted to the side.

‘’Why?’’ he asked with a rough voice, closing his eyes again.

‘’It’s morning,’’ Yunhyeong answered.

Donghyuk’s brows furrowed before he lifted his head to take a tired look at the digital clock, which confirmed the other’s claim. ‘’I slept the whole day?’’

‘’Yep, pretty much.’’ Yunhyeong smiled a little before carefully bringing his hand to Donghyuk’s forehead, ‘’Your temperature seems to have gotten lower. Are you feeling any better?’’

‘’Yeah.’’

‘’Planning on going back to sleep?’’

Donghyuk rested his head back on the pillow, rubbing his eyes. ‘’Nope,’’ he answered, smiling tiredly as he could feel that he was able to live again.

‘’That’s great. Should I go to run a bath for you?’’

‘’Thanks,’’ Donghyuk said and sat up as Yunhyeong headed to his bathroom. He slowly got up from the bed, stretching his full body before ruffling his hair. He looked down to see a full glass of water on the nightstand, along with another red pill in a small white cup.

After taking his morning medicine Donghyuk walked over to the bathroom, where Yunhyeong was testing the water temperature. ‘’I didn’t take my evening medication yesterday,’’ he noted leaning against the door frame.

‘’Yeah, I didn’t have the heart to wake you up again. Besides, since you were just sleeping I concluded it wouldn’t have made much difference anyways,’’ Yunhyeong shrugged and turned to look at the other. Donghyuk didn’t argue, since Yunhyeong presumably knew better.

‘’Join us downstairs for breakfast when you’re done, okay?’’ he said as he got up from the edge of the bathtub. Donghyuk gave a nod before the other left the bathroom and shut the door.

He waited until the tub was full and then closed the tab before removing his clothes and getting in. The water was warm, it felt pleasant against his skin. Donghyuk dipped himself fully underwater and stayed there for a good while, until he needed to catch a breath. He swiped his wet hair off his face before relaxing and leaning his head back.

Donghyuk still couldn’t remember how he had ended up on that road. His memories before that night were nonexistent, no matter how hard he tried to recall anything. _Maybe it’ll just take a longer while,_ he reassured himself. Yunhyeong had said that it was possible for his memories to come back, after all. However, a thought of them never returning had been knocking onto the back of his head ever since his step brother had explained his condition. Thinking about it made Donghyuk instantly feel uneasy.

After taking his time in the bath, he finally got up and dried himself before putting on some new clothes, which Yunhyeong had sneaked in for him through a door crack. Donghyuk spent another moment in front of the mirror, trying to get used to the face that was looking back at him, before finally heading downstairs.

 

 

"Then why are you even here?" Yunhyeong's voice asked in a distance which made Donghyuk stop on his tracks.

"It’s like you’re assuming that I'm here because I want to," Chanwoo answered in the dining room where the voices were coming from. Donghyuk frowned lightly, concluding that the two hadn't heard him coming down the stairs. "I'm here simply because he doesn't trust you."

There was a brief silence before he heard a scoff. "Why wouldn't he trust me?" Yunhyeong asked, "It's my credit that we're here, after all."

"Why else would he ask me to be here with you?" Chanwoo's voice sounded frustrated, "He probably believes that you can't handle such a responsibility by yourself, even if you were his oldest son."

"Won't you lower your voice already? Donghyuk could hear you, idiot," Yunhyeong hissed, followed by a soft sound of something like a screech of a chair being dragged against the floor. Donghyuk bit his lip, feeling a small heat on his cheeks as he realized he was listening to something he most likely shouldn't be. He couldn't help his curiosity, however.

"Anyway, I won't be here for long. I'll leave this place as soon as I can, because this is just ridiculous," Chanwoo said with a quieter but still audible voice.

"I'm glad you will. I don't need you here in the first place."

As Donghyuk heard footsteps in the room, he quickly continued walking in a fear of getting caught eavesdropping. As he got to the entrance of the dining room, he stopped to look at the two carefully. He saw Chanwoo at the sink, hands holding on the edges as he stared at Yunhyeong who was leaning against the kitchen counter with crossed arms and a gaze that was throwing blades at the other one. As soon as Donghyuk cleared his throat, both of them turned their heads towards him so quickly that he felt a light shiver up his back. He could suddenly feel the heavy atmosphere of the place, which made him want to turn on his heel and escape back to the safety of his room.

"Good morning..?" he said carefully. Chanwoo finally moved, turning from the sink and crossing his arms on his chest.

"Oh, you're here?" he raised his brows, "It seems that you're feeling better now. What a relief." There was an evident lack of sincerity in the boy's words which made another wave of heat flush over Donghyuk's face.

"Unfortunately I have already finished my breakfast and have somewhere to go, so I can't stay for a chat right now. Therefore..." Chanwoo casted a glance at Yunhyeong before walking out of the room without bothering to add anything else. Donghyuk stared after him before turning towards Yunhyeong, who rolled his eyes before bringing his hand up to his face with a heavy sigh.

"Is... something wrong?" he asked, fiddling his fingers awkwardly feeling like he was somewhere he shouldn't be at that moment.

"It's nothing" Yunhyeong replied, "Don't mind him. Let's just eat."

 

Neither of them said a word until they were sitting down on the opposite sides of the table with the breakfast set in front of them. Donghyuk's appetite was long gone, however, and after poking that one particular piece of kimchi with his chopsticks for a few minutes, he finally looked up at Yunhyeong.

"Is something up between you and Chanwoo?"

Yunhyeong stopped chewing for a moment before the two met eyes. Then he sighed and nodded his head slowly.

"Yeah," he replied bluntly, "Of course you can't remember but... Chanwoo and I don't have a very good relationship."

"Why?"

Yunhyeong shrugged his shoulders as he looked down at the surface of the table. "It's always been like that, I guess. Chanwoo just, I don't know, likes giving everyone a cold shoulder."

And as on clue, they heard a sound of footsteps coming down the stairs and soon after the front door was opened and slammed shut. Donghyuk bit his lip nervously as he turned back towards the other.

"He's not very close with me either, right..?"

"You concluded that much?" Yunhyeong raised his brows before giving a small sympathetic smile, "But it's true. It's not because of you, though."

Donghyuk swallowed, thinking back to the night when he returned from the police station. Chanwoo had been so nice to him back then. _Probably just because he had been worried_.

Suddenly Yunhyeong halted before looking up at Donghyuk with a worried look, "Did you, by chance, hear our conversation earlier?"

Donghyuk wished that the blood rushing back on his cheeks wasn't evident, and he tried his best to keep a neutral face as he cleared his throat.

"Not actually. I did hear talking but… it was your expressions that gave a feeling."

"Right…" Yunhyeong nodded his head while poking his spoon into his rice bowl.

"But why is he like that?" Donghyuk asked.

"Who knows? Anyway, since the two of you haven't known each other for too long, Chanwoo hasn't even given you the opportunity to try to get close to him."

Donghyuk's brows furrowed in confusion as he stared at Yunhyeong trying to understand the man's words. "What do you mean by that?"

"Ah, right. Chanwoo and I have known you for just a few years now. Truthfully, we didn't know that our father had a third child somewhere, but then... we found you. Things happened. I tend to forget that you can't remember..."

Donghyuk pouted his lips, "It must be tiring to tell all this... since I'm supposed to know."

"Hey!" Yunhyeong said in a scolding tone and raised a brow at him, making Donghyuk smirk and lower his head.

"Is it a common habit for me to have a constant quilt trip?" he asked slightly amused and glanced up at Yunhyeong whose face also broke into a smile.

"Sort of, yeah," the other nodded and gave a small laugh.

And as the room's atmosphere could unwind once again, Donghyuk's appetite was able to return.

 

‘’Who exactly is our father?’’ Donghyuk asked as he flipped through the notebook on his table. As soon as he realized that the pages had nothing special on them, he turned to the drawers, opening them one by one and going through his stuff.

Yunhyeong was on his bed, lying down casually with hands under his head. ‘’He’s a businessman working in a big company. You know, one of those people that wear a suit around the clock and never find time to anything outside job. That’s why only the three of us live in this house,’’ he told, ‘’He lives in the company building.’’

‘’I guess we don’t see him very often, huh?’’ Donghyuk lifted his head to look at the other, who nodded his head to confirm his claim.

He leaned back on the chair, scanning his eyes through the shelves with a big sigh. Donghyuk had decided to try and get on track about his own identity as much as possible, and of course, Yunhyeong had been glad to help him with that.

‘’What about my mother?’’

‘’We don’t know,’’ Yunhyeong answered, ‘’You were raised in an orphanage.’’

‘’I was?’’ Donghyuk blinked, bringing his elbows on his table and resting his chin against his palm. ‘’Do I have a step mother, then?’’

‘’You don’t. My parents divorced many years ago. We haven’t kept a very good connection with her,’’ Yunhyeong answered before rolling onto his stomach. ‘’Chanwoo and I were raised pretty much by Mrs. Gong, our housemaid.’’ He smiled lightly before looking up at Donghyuk, ‘’You’ll meet her very soon. She has always liked you. And you’ve liked her.’’

Donghyuk returned the smile, before tapping his fingers against his cheek while thinking about more questions about himself. ‘’Have I ever dated anyone?’’ he asked after a moment, raising a curious brow at the other.

Yunhyeong gave him a look before smirking and shaking his head. ‘’How am I supposed to know? I don’t know. It’s not like I know every detail about you either.’’

Donghyuk’s face broke into a smile as he gave a nod of understanding. ‘’Friends?’’

‘’I suppose you’ve had some, but it seems that you’ve lost contact by now. You didn’t think they were worth your time or something.’’

‘’I sound pretty lonely,’’ Donghyuk said as he got up and walked around the room with a slight pout.

‘’Not at all. You still have the best company possible,’’ Yunhyeong said, and when Donghyuk turned to look at the other, he saw him pointing at himself with a wide grin.

Donghyuk rolled his eyes playfully before walking over to his bed and sitting down on the edge. ‘’By the way… do I work out or something? Because I swear I saw some muscles here earlier…’’ he muttered before tugging on his collar and peeking inside his own shirt. Yunhyeong snickered at his actions and sat up as well.

‘’Yeah, we actually work out together. I’ll show you soon, but not today. You haven’t still healed completely.’’

And as though having been waiting for a perfect timing, Donghyuk instantly released a loud sneeze.

‘’That’s what I meant,’’ Yunhyeong smirked.

 

 

Donghyuk really liked the area they were living in. It was as wealthy as their house allowed to assume, but of course, the level wasn’t his first priority. He rather enjoyed the peace of their neighborhood. The space between the houses that were built in a nice row was ideal, and there were even pretty brick walls to separate the properties. And behind the fence of their front yard, there was a street with a sidewalk on the both sides of the main road and trees decorating the view from each direction. The road went uphill a few blocks after their house, and the city of Seoul could be seen at the end of it. Soon after the hill, there was a pathway leading towards a forest.

Four days after Donghyuk was brought home, he was running on that pathway in a full speed, passing trees and bushes and stepping on branches, feeling nothing but the wind on his face and his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He knew that Yunhyeong wasn’t far behind him, but he had quickly learned that he was indeed faster than the other. When he crossed their imaginary ‘finish line’, Yunhyeong was only a few seconds back.

They stopped to catch a breath, both of them panting heavily with their shirts glued to their skin from sweating so much. The two were in a sort of a square built at the end of the path, with some simple workout machines and benches set around for people to use freely. It was a place which would normally have lots of people taking advantage of the sunny weather, but this time they were alone. Exhausted, Yunhyeong walked over to the nearest bench and sat down meanwhile Donghyuk headed to a drinking fountain. After drinking to his heart’s content, he lowered his head to wet his hair in order to cool down. When he turned back towards Yunhyeong, he saw the other looking at him intently.

‘’What?’’ he smirked.

‘’I was secretly hoping that your condition wouldn’t be the best yet, so that I could win you even once,’’ Yunhyeong said as the other sat down next to him, ‘’But I guess not.’’

Donghyuk chuckled and leaned against the boy lazily, who expressed his discontentment with a groan. ‘’Donghyuk, stop. There’s no strength left in me,’’ he whined, which only provoked the other to put more weight onto him with a wide grin. Yunhyeong was soon bent in half with Donghyuk’s back on top of his, before he quickly slipped off causing the other to lurch off to the ground.

‘’You’re so annoying,’’ Yunhyeong said in a playfully irritated tone before walking over to the drinking fountain. Donghyuk got up and wiped some hay off his shorts, giving the other a scoff and walking to a wooden barrier at the edge of the square, where the city was in a perfect view in the distance. The sun was shining unforgivingly on his back, and despite of how hot he was, it still felt nice. It had been raining constantly for days – at least if Yunhyeong’s words were worth trusting – and the nature around him had a strong, calming scent. Donghyuk closed his eyes to listen to the silence around him, only to have his thoughts interrupted by his step brother who suddenly jumped onto his back.

‘’Stop it, Yunhyeong. I’m out of strength,’’ Donghyuk whined in a mocking tone, making Yunhyeong get off of him and take his head in a lock position.

‘’Why aren’t you respecting your elders, huh?’’ he asked jokingly as Donghyuk started laughing and tried to grab a hold of the other’s leg. The two were about to start a playful match of wrestling, only to stop soon after when a group of Nordic walking old ladies passed them. Yunhyeong gave a smirk and hopped up to sit on the barrier, apparently not minding the fall that would face him if he happened to fall backwards. ‘’It was fun, right? The running, I mean.’’

Donghyuk nodded as he placed his elbows to lean on the wooden bar. ‘’Yes, I liked it,’’ he answered and Yunhyeong reached over to ruffle his hair. They spent a moment in silence as Donghyuk stared at the view in front him before looking down at his hands.

‘’Where’s Chanwoo?’’ he finally asked. The question had been on the tip of his tongue ever since their encounter in the morning two days earlier. He hadn’t seen the youngest after that, and he couldn’t help wondering where Chanwoo had left.

Yunhyeong gave a sigh as he picked some fluff from the fabric of his shorts. ‘’I’m not sure. There are lots of places he could be at the moment.’’

‘’Did you two have a fight?’’

‘’Sort of,’’ Yunhyeong answered, and Donghyuk was glad to know that the other wasn’t trying to lie to him, knowing too well that the two’s latest conversation hadn’t been a very pleasant one. ‘’But he does that often. Disappearing, I mean. And he always ends up coming back just fine.’’

‘’So you aren’t worried?’’ Donghyuk lifted his gaze onto the other’s face.

‘’I’m not. And you shouldn’t be, either. He’s just that kind of a person.’’ Yunhyeong turned to look back at him, and the sincerity of his eyes was able to reassure the younger that Chanwoo was indeed alright.

Donghyuk nodded his head and retuned his gaze onto the city view, ‘’If you say so.’’

 

After some time had passed, the two started to head back home. With both being too exhausted to take another run, they had settled for walking the whole way. As they had returned from the pathway and were back on the sidewalk, they stopped by at a small convenience store where Yunhyeong had suggested that he’d go buy them something cold to drink. Donghyuk was waiting for him outside, kicking on the ground casually with the tip of his shoe. He raised his head as he heard talking on the other side of the road, where he saw a young man and an old lady apparently just about to part their ways.

‘’Take care of yourself!’’ he could hear the old lady saying.

‘’You too, grandma!’’ the man said and gave her a cheerful wave before the two turned to walk to the opposite directions. Donghyuk’s eyes met with his briefly, and he had made a quick note that the man was around his age. He didn’t pay any more attention, though, and returned back to tap the gray asphalt with his foot as he waited for Yunhyeong to come out.

However, when he lifted his gaze again he saw that the stranger had stopped walking and turned to look at Donghyuk again. All he could do was just stare back, as the tiny-framed and slightly narrow eyed man gazed at him nearly without blinking. Feeling uncomfortable about the situation, Donghyuk broke the eye contact, but ended up returning it just a few seconds later. No, the man wasn’t just taking a better look or checking him out, he was staring. He looked like someone who had just seen a celebrity. Although, there wasn’t the look of admiration one would have in their eyes in that kind of situation, there was only shock in the small man’s expression. Donghyuk glanced at the door of the store next to him. Should he rush in, away from under the stranger’s gaze? Or did they possibly know each other? _If that was the case, wouldn’t he greet me or something?_

The man finally moved, taking a small step towards him still not looking away from his face. His gaze was observing, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Donghyuk didn’t know what to do. He just looked back, waiting for the stranger to say something, _anything_ , which would explain the bizarre scene.

The tension was suddenly broken by Yunhyeong, who stepped out of the store pressing a cold bottle of soda against Donghyuk’s neck.

‘’Feel this! It’s so refreshing, right?’’ he said with a smirk. Donghyuk stared at him for a few seconds, and with a great effort forced a smile on his face.

‘’Y-yeah… Feels nice,’’ he answered before grabbing the bottle and starting to walk away, wanting to get away from the staring man. ‘’Let’s go home.’’

The other didn’t seem to notice his uneasiness as he walked beside him, focusing on his bottle as he started opening it. Donghyuk couldn’t help but to look back at the small man on the other side of the road once more. He had finally lowered his gaze, which was this time on a phone he was now holding in his hand. The man brought the phone to his ear, and once their eyes met again, he quickly turned on his heel and sprinted off. Donghyuk stopped on his tracks and stared after him confusedly, bothered about not having the slightest idea of what was going on.

‘’What are you looking at?’’ Yunhyeong’s voice asked just when the stranger had disappeared from his view, and when Donghyuk turned his head he met the other’s questioning eyes.

‘’I… I just saw…’’ he started, trailing off as he was trying to decide whether Yunhyeong should know about the encounter just a minute ago.

‘’Saw what?’’ his step brother’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he looked at the direction where there was no longer anyone.

‘’I saw… a squirrel,’’ Donghyuk said quickly.

‘’What?’’ Yunhyeong blinked, ‘’A squirrel?’’

‘’Right. A very cute one. But that’s all about it, let’s go,’’ Donghyuk nodded as he started walking quickly down the sidewalk. Few seconds later he could hear Yunhyeong’s amused voice behind him.

‘’You’re the weirdest. I swear, Donghyuk.’’

 

No matter how hard Donghyuk tried to forget about the weird acting stranger, he found his thoughts on the man several times during the rest of the day. It felt as if his eyes had dug holes into his flesh, which afterwards kept stinging him mercilessly. He didn’t know the reason to feel that way, though. 


	3. Chapter 3

The noises downstairs had woken Donghyuk up that morning. At first he had tried to ignore the din by turning on his side and covering his head with a pillow, but ended up not being able to catch any more sleep. Feeling slightly grumpy, Donghyuk finally got up and slid on his slippers as he made his way out of the room.

After walking down the stairs, he first saw Yunhyeong leaning against the arm of a living room couch with crossed arms, staring at something with a serious looking expression on his face. When he walked closer, Donghyuk could then see a couple of mechanics working on something at the front door.

‘’What’s going on?’’ he asked tiredly as he stepped beside the other.

‘’They’re putting up new locks on the door. Father wanted to make sure that the police station thing won’t happen again,’’ Yunhyeong sighed, ‘’The door opens only with a key from both sides from now on.’’

‘’I see,’’ Donghyuk said before giving a small yawn. Then he turned to look at Yunhyeong with a tilted head. ‘’You look unhappy.’’

Their eyes met for a short second before Yunhyeong shrugged his shoulders. ‘’It just feels kind of… harsh? Don’t you think so?’’

‘’Well, there’s a good reason, so…’’ Donghyuk gave a casual shrug, ‘’I don’t really mind. Also, I wouldn’t like to end up wandering around like that again. Therefore, I think it’s good to have it that way.’’

Yunhyeong glanced at his face before sighing once more. ‘’I suppose.’’

‘’Oh, look who’s finally awake!’’ a cheerful sounding voice called, and when Donghyuk turned around he saw Mrs. Gong at the entrance of the dining room with her usual bright smile. ‘’Come and have some breakfast, will you?’’

Donghyuk took one more look at Yunhyeong before making his way to the housemaid. Mrs. Gong had really turned out to have the role of a mother of the three. Even though her visits at the house weren’t too long and not even daily, she took care of the household and the boys like they were her own children. Despite them all being in their early twenties already and capable to take care of themselves (in other words, _bunch of spoiled brats_ , like Yunhyeong had addressed it), it still felt like her presence was needed. At least for Donghyuk, as the woman made him feel even more at home.

After taking his morning medication and sitting down at the breakfast table, Donghyuk looked at Chanwoo who had returned home the previous evening after spending days in who-knows-where. The youngest didn’t spare him a glance as he was too busy with his phone, and Donghyuk gave a displeased pout before starting to eat.

‘’Well, the mechanics are now gone. I have to go somewhere today, but do you want to go running after I come back?’’ Yunhyeong asked while entering the room a moment later.

‘’Sure,’’ Donghyuk answered with a nod.

‘’Do you want to come too?’’ Yunhyeong turned towards Chanwoo as he placed his hand on Donghyuk’s shoulder.

‘’No,’’ Chanwoo said without even looking up from the screen.

‘’How surprising,’’ the other said with clear sarcasm. ‘’Are you planning on blasting off again? Maybe the new locks are for you, so that you would stay here for even a bit. Maybe I should go hide all the keys from you, a-‘’

As Donghyuk took a notice of the growing annoyance on Chanwoo’s face, he decided to interrupt Yunhyeong’s nagging by shoving a slice of watermelon in his mouth.

‘’Just shut up. He doesn’t want to come,’’ he said.

Chanwoo gave a tired sounding sigh before standing up from his chair. ‘’I ate well,’’ he said to Mrs. Gong before leaving the room.

Donghyuk gave Yunhyeong a glare as the other was still chewing on the fruit and staring after the youngest. ‘’Why do you have to provoke him like that? If you ever wish to get a good relationship with him, that’s not how you do it.’’

‘’Well, that case is already a lost one. So I better just embrace it,’’ Yunhyeong gave a casual shrug and patted Donghyuk shoulder. ‘’See you later, alright?’’

Donghyuk gazed after Yunhyeong as the other also left the room, catching Mrs. Gong shaking her head from the corner of his eye.

‘’Why are they like that?’’ he asked.

‘’Well, who knows? It’s just something that has always been like that. Boys will be boys, right?’’ the housemaid answered with a kind smile.

‘’I guess… It’s nothing like they’re hiding something, right?’’ Donghyuk raised a brow when he remembered the conversation between the two that one morning, looking at her expression and noticing a small hint of bafflement before she replied.

‘’Of course not! What would they have to hide anyway… Stop worrying about small things and eat a lot, yes?’’

 

Donghyuk spent most of the day home alone after both of his step brothers had left somewhere soon after the situation during breakfast. Mrs. Gong had also taken her leave already in the noon, and Donghyuk had ended up staying in the giant house all by himself. He had come to realize how boring his life was, as he had nowhere to go or anyone to contact. If he had, he wouldn’t remember any of that anymore. It had been five days, but none of his memories had returned.

He had his books, at least. Yunhyeong had told him that keeping his brain active would help with his memory, so he had spent his day reading on his bed.

 

Yunhyeong had returned in the late afternoon, and the two, as promised, had gone out running soon after. They had taken a little heavier training, and by the time they came back home, both of them were exhausted and sore.

‘’Are you hungry?’’ the other asked after they had taken their time playing dead on the living room couch.

‘’Starving,’’ Donghyuk replied while resting his head on Yunhyeong’s thigh.

‘’Should I make us some ramyeon?’’

‘’Definitely. With an egg.’’

As Yunhyeong got up from the couch, Donghyuk’s head hit on the cushion and he gave a displeased groan. When the other had disappeared to the kitchen, he also got up and stretched his body on his way after Yunhyeong. He got to the room just in time to see his step brother opening the fridge.

‘’You know what? We’re out of eggs,’’ he said soon after.

Donghyuk leaned against the frame with a pout. ‘’The convenience store has eggs, right?’’ he asked.

‘’Yeah, but there’s no way I’m going all the way there. I don’t have any energy,’’ Yunhyeong sighed.

‘’I can go.’’

Yunhyeong turned to look at him before shutting the fridge. ‘’No, it’s alright. We can have ramyeon without it.’’

‘’But we both like it better with it,’’ Donghyuk remarked, ‘’Besides, I do have energy for another trip. I’ll be quick.’’

The other gave him another look that this time seemed a little skeptical.

‘’What?’’ Donghyuk raised a brow when Yunhyeong hadn’t still said anything after a moment. ‘’Are you afraid that I’ll lose my memory all of a sudden out there?’’

‘’No, it’s not that…’’ Yunhyeong sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. ‘’Fine. But just… come straight back, alright?’’

‘’Where else would I even go..?’’ Donghyuk mumbled as Yunhyeong gave him the key from his pocket.

‘’My wallet is on the bureau,’’ Yunhyeong said. ‘’Take it with you. And don’t delay.’’

 

It was Donghyuk’s first time to be outside alone since the highway incident. This time, though, it felt nice. This time he knew where he was going and where he was coming from, and unlike that time, his steps were full of confidence. The sun was already setting and the first street lights had turned on to light Donghyuk’s way, as he walked a bit hurriedly towards the store at the end of the hill.

When he soon after saw the signboard illuminating in the distance, Donghyuk suddenly remembered the weird event from two days earlier, where the small stranger had stared at him like he was an alien. It sure had bothered him after that, but when the next day had come he had barely spared a single thought to it. But now that he was approaching the exact same place it had happened in, Donghyuk couldn’t help finding himself thinking about it again.

He however shook it away as he finally stepped inside the convenience store and headed straight where he believed to find what he was looking for.

"Are you sure that the person you saw was him?" someone asked near him, and Donghyuk turned his head to see some guy talking on the phone with his back towards him.

"There's seriously no trace of him around here." Donghyuk didn't choose to eavesdrop, but with the store being quiet except for a silent radio playing some old trot songs, it was pretty impossible not to hear the man's words. He picked up an egg carton from the shelf in front of him, and after checking that none of the eggs were broken, he turned to go and pay. He casted one more glance at the man, who was fiddling a bag of chips in his hand and apparently listening to someone on the other end of the line.

"Anyway, I think Jiwon should start checking the area instead of me. It's been two days and I haven't found anything related to him."

Donghyuk walked to the counter to have his purchase scanned. He handed the money to the cashier who afterwards packed the carton in a plastic bag.

"Thank you," he said politely before heading out of the store. Right before reaching the door, however, he stopped when he suddenly got a strange feeling. He turned his head slowly towards the other side of the aisle, where the guy was standing, phone still on his ear, staring at him wide-eyed. It was strangely similar to the encounter two days earlier. The look in the man's eyes was the same. He wasn't as tiny framed like the stranger before, though. He was actually quite tall and had a dark hair, which also made a match with his clothing.

This time, though, Donghyuk wasn't going to stand there like an idiot, and he broke the eye contact after just a few seconds before grabbing the handle and pushing the door open.

"Jinhwan? I'll call you back," he heard the guy saying right as he stepped out of the store. He started walking home with quick steps, almost beginning to grow irritated with the weird people of this area and their even weirder habit of constant staring. What the hell was their problem?

"Kim Donghyuk!"

He instantly stopped on his tracks before hearing footsteps behind him. Donghyuk turned around to see the stranger with a dark hair exiting the store and approaching him quickly.

"Are you okay?" the man asked, making Donghyuk frown in confusion. "Where exactly have you been all this time? Don't you have any idea of how worried we've been because of you?"

Donghyuk stared at the stranger's face, his lips parting slowly as he was trying to grasp some sense from the other's words. "Who... are you?" he asked carefully.

This time, it was the stranger whose face turned confused as he blinked his eyes as if not understanding the question. "Hey, what... what are you saying?" he asked with a deep frown. "Don't you think that this is not the time to be joking around?"

"I..." Donghyuk started but stopped to take a deep breath before his face broke into a kind but apologetic smile, "Ah... In case this is not our first encounter, I'm sorry that I can't remember you. Due to my memory disorder, I recently forgot pretty much everything related to myself."

"Eh?!" the man's mouth opened wide as he stared at Donghyuk like he was a completely new species.

"Yeah, it's like that," he continued, "I do take medication, though, but-"

"Donghyuk..." the dark haired interrupted, shaking his head, "What the hell are you talking about? You don't have a memory disorder."

Donghyuk's heart might have skipped a beat at that moment. The words he just heard were completely absurd and made no sense. However the man's expression was serious, maybe even a slightly scared. "What are you saying?" Donghyuk asked with a frown, just gazing at the other unable to process what he had just heard.

"If you had, I would know of it. I've known you for over ten years. It's me, Koo Junhoe! Don't you seriously recognize me?"

Donghyuk took a hesitant step backwards as his eyes inspected the man's features once again.

"I don't... I've never seen your face before," he answered, already wondering if he could make it all the way home if he took a run for it. The other's weird, almost panicked behavior was starting to give him creeps.

"Who did this to you?" Koo Junhoe asked, shaking his head again lightly without breaking the eye contact for even a second, "What happened?"

"What do you mean? Nothing happened. You must've misunderstood something... I do have a disorder. Yunhyeong said, that-"

"Yunhyeong? Song Yunhyeong?!" the other nearly shouted as he took a step towards Donghyuk before grabbing him harshly by the shoulders. "He's behind this? You've been with him all this time?"

"Behind what?" Donghyuk asked as he tried to squirm away from the other's grip, "You... you don't understand. Yunhyeong is my step brother..."

"Donghyuk, listen to me," Junhoe said with a shaky voice, his grip tightening even more, "You went missing two months ago. We have been looking all over for you ever since. Whatever Yunhyeong has said to you is a lie. You two aren't related in any way. He's been brainwashing you all this time, I'm telling you."

"P-please let go of me..."

"Please, please Donghyuk, don't go back to him. Come with me, I'll explain everything to you, okay? Let's get you safe before that, hm?"

"You..." Donghyuk breathed out. It was his turn to start acting alarmed. "You are... mistaken. Yunhyeong is not that kind of a person..."

"Donghyuk, please. I-"

"Let go of me."

"I just-"

"I said let go!"

And with one harsh kick on the knee, Donghyuk got himself released and in the next second he had already turned around and started running for his dear life. He wasn’t sure whether Junhoe called after him or he was just imagining it, but it didn’t matter. He just ran without looking back. He ran as if he was on the pathway in the forest with Yunhyeong, as fast as he could. He had completely forgotten about his exhaustion and aching muscles, as a new shot of energy filled his body. The downhill gave him a little ease, but turned out to also fail him when he tripped to his own feet and fell down on the asphalt. It didn’t slow him down, though, as he got up instantly and just kept running.

He didn’t know exactly what he was escaping from, but his brain was too overwhelmed to think rationally. The things he had just heard made no sense to him. It couldn’t be true. There was no way.

Donghyuk didn’t even acknowledge it when he made it to his yard’s gate and soon got inside. He wasn’t thinking clearly until he was leaning his back against the door, breathing heavily with his chest heaving rapidly. He slowly walked further in after a moment, noticing how his legs were feeling slightly wobbly.

‘’Didn’t you go to the store?’’ A voice made Donghyuk jump a little before he saw Yunhyeong standing at the other end of the living room. He looked down at his own hands, noticing that the plastic bag he had left the store with wasn’t there anymore. Donghyuk wasn’t sure of at which point he had dropped it.

‘’What’s wrong?’’ the other asked after not getting an answer, ‘’You look like you’ve seen a ghost.’’

‘’I…’’ Donghyuk breathed out as Yunhyeong walked closer to him with slightly furrowed brows. His head felt empty, he had no idea what to say.

‘’You’ve got hurt, Donghyuk!’’ Yunhyeong eyes widened as he looked down at his body. When Donghyuk glanced down again, he saw how bad his knee looked. He had thought he had got just a small scratch from the fall, as he hadn’t been able to feel any pain from all of it. But the wound was quite large and he saw a couple of red trails of blood going down his leg.

‘’What on Earth happened?’’ the other asked, looking at him with eyes full of worry. Donghyuk stared at him for a few seconds, swallowing his breath before he finally opened his mouth.

‘’I did go to the store, but on my way back…’’ he started, looking at Yunhyeong’s brown eyes and biting his lip before continuing hesitantly, ‘’There was a dog. I don’t know how it had got loose but… it was a big one and… it was growling at me so I just ran.’’

‘’Dog?’’ Yunhyeong raised a questioning brow at him, ‘’Did it chase you?’’

Donghyuk shook his head and fiddled his fingers. ‘’I don’t know, I… I didn’t look back. And I guess I fell at some point.’’ He carefully glanced back up at Yunhyeong’s face, and after a couple of tormenting seconds he saw the other’s face softening.

‘’Wow. What a poor thing’’ he said with a small smile, ‘’You seem really shocked, you need to calm down a bit, Donghyuk. Let’s go treat your leg for starters.’’ When Yunhyeong reached over to grab his arm, Donghyuk unconsciously flinched further from him, looking at him with wide eyes.

‘’What?’’ the other blinked confusedly, ‘’Is something wrong?’’

Donghyuk took a deep breath as he tried to relax his muscles. ‘’It’s nothing,’’ he answered silently, ‘’Let’s go.’’

 

Yunhyeong walked out of the bathroom, approaching him with a piece of cotton and a small white bottle in his hands.

‘’Here, use these to clean up the wound. I swear there are some bandages here somewhere, so wait just a second,’’ he said softly as he handed the stuff to Donghyuk who was sitting on the edge of his bed with a blank expression. When the other left the room, he slowly opened the bottle and poured something that seemed to be disinfectant on the cotton. He was still partly in his own world, and when he pressed it on his knee he barely even felt the sting. He could still hear Junhoe’s voice in his head and feel his grip on his shoulders.

_‘’You don't have a memory disorder.’’_

This time Donghyuk could feel the pain as he accidentally pressed the cotton into the wound a little too hard. He hissed with a grimace, taking a deep breath afterwards and trying to get himself together.

‘’Found it,’’ Yunhyeong’s voice said soon after as the man stepped back into the room. He walked over to set the items he had brought on the nightstand before turning towards the other.

‘’Hey… your hands are shaking,’’ Yunhyeong said with a frown before kneeling down in front of him and taking the cotton from his hands. ‘’I’ll do it for you.’’

 Donghyuk stared at the other as he cleaned the wound gently, making sure that his actions wouldn’t hurt him too badly.

_‘’He's been brainwashing you all this time.’’_

He instantly flinched as he heard Junhoe’s words in his head again. Donghyuk could feel his heart starting to beat in slightly quicker pace as he squeezed his hand into a tight fist.

‘’Sorry,’’ Yunhyeong muttered, thinking that the movement had been because of the sting. He turned back towards the night stand, taking the bandages he had brought and casting a glance at Donghyuk’s face.

‘’It must’ve really scared you. You’re completely pale,’’ he sighed, ‘’Should I call a dogcatcher?’’ Yunhyeong didn’t get an answer as Donghyuk couldn’t even process the words he had heard. He was way too deep within his own thoughts to understand anything that was happening.

‘’I should’ve gone with you,’’ Yunhyeong said in a pitiful tone as the started placing the bandage on the wound.

Donghyuk’s eyes moved onto his face again. He didn’t understand. Why would the man say something like that to him? Yunhyeong had been taking such a good care of him, there was no way he could have been pretending all this time. And wouldn’t that mean that also Chanwoo and Mrs. Gong were in it? He just couldn’t understand anything. He couldn’t even understand himself.

_Why does all of this have to happen to me?_

When Yunhyeong was done with the bandage, he looked up at the other’s face before instantly frowning in confusion. ‘’What is it?’’

He was shot back to reality by the other’s question, and when Donghyuk blinked his eyes he could feel something warm and wet on his cheek.

‘’Does it hurt that much?’’ Yunhyeong asked worriedly, and Donghyuk shook his head before closing his eyes and bringing his closed fist to his mouth to prevent himself from releasing a soft sniffle. He ended up failing, however. His emotions had given in.

‘’Is it because of what happened?’’ the other continued questioning, looking at the other helplessly as Donghyuk put his hand to cover his eyes when another tear fell.

‘’I-it’s not that…’’ he said weakly as the sniffles started to become frequent, ‘’I just…’’

He felt a weight landing on the mattress beside him and soon after Yunhyeong’s hand was placed on his shoulder.

‘’I just want my memories back…’’ Donghyuk whispered and released a sob. He heard a soft sigh next to him before he was pulled closer to the other. He didn’t flinch back this time. He just needed someone to reassure him that everything was alright, that he was safe.

‘’I know. I’m sorry,’’ Yunhyeong said softly, his hand stroking Donghyuk’s head which was leaning against his shoulder.

_There’s no way. Yunhyeong couldn’t do something like that._

 

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

The door formed a thin line of light on the floor of the dark room as it was opened. A figure stepped inside, approaching the bed in the middle of the room where Donghyuk was laying in a deep slumber. Junhoe's eyes were fixed on his face as the man walked without a sound, stopping at the edge of his bed. Behind him, Yunhyeong also entered the bedroom and approached the sleeping man. He settled at the opposite edge from Junhoe, both of them looking at Donghyuk's figure quietly.

"You aren't safe in here," Junhoe said with a quiet voice, bending down slightly closer to his face.

"Don't you trust me?" Yunhyeong asked, also leaning closer to the calm man resting under the covers, "After all I've done for you?"

"Donghyuk, let me take you away," Junhoe continued, "He is lying."

"I'm the only one who can keep you safe," Yunhyeong's voice whispered.

"You're not his real brother."

"How could you trust a person you don't even know?"

‘’I’ve been looking for you for months.’’

‘’You have no one but me.’’

‘’It’s all just a scam.’’

‘’Donghyuk.’’

‘’Donghyuk!’’

His eyes shot wide open, and Donghyuk quickly sat up with his heart pounding in his chest. Gasping for air, he reached over to the lamp on the night stand and quickly turning it on. Donghyuk looked around in his room, realizing slowly that there was no one except for himself. His body was covered with cold sweat and the man was breathing heavily as a result of the absurd dream he had woken up from. The voices were still echoing clearly in his head, causing Donghyuk to start shaking in anguish.

It took him a moment to calm down and to assure himself that, indeed, it had been just in his head. Only some stupid imagination. With a heavy sigh, Donghyuk relaxed his muscles as he laid back down, already very aware of the fact that he wouldn’t be able to get any sleep anymore. Glancing at the digital clock next to his bed, he saw that it was a little over one in the morning.

Donghyuk’s head had been a complete mess ever since the encounter that had happened outside the convenience store. His thoughts had been running around wildly, not apparently giving him a break even in his sleep.

After some moments of staring blankly at the ceiling of his room, Donghyuk realized that his mouth felt insanely dry. He reached over to the glass on the night stand only to find out it was empty.

 

He exited his bedroom as silently as possible. It was all quiet, and the last thing Donghyuk wanted was to wake someone up during his quick visit downstairs. He sneaked down the stairs and walked over to the kitchen. The room had a small light at the corner, which kept Donghyuk from walking into everything on his way towards the fridge.

''Why are you up?'' a voice asked making Donghyuk stir visibly before he took a sharp turn around. Yunhyeong was staring at him at the other end of the room, sitting at the table with the dim light exposing his features.

''Ah, I...'' Donghyuk said as he tried to recover from his fright, ''I couldn't sleep. I had a nightmare.''

''Of a dog, perhaps?'' Yunhyeong asked with a smirk, and the other gave a sigh as he opened the refrigerator. For some reason, seeing the man made him feel uncomfortable. He just wanted to get back to his room as quickly as possible. Donghyuk picked a bottle of water and was about to head back upstairs when Yunhyeong spoke again.

''Why won't you sit down with me for a while?''

Donghyuk turned to look at him as the other nodded towards the seat next to himself. After a few seconds of hesitating he slowly walked over, noticing a glass and a bottle in front of Yunhyeong as he sat down.

''Is this how you spend your nights?'' he dared to ask playfully.

''Not really,'' Yunhyeong answered as he took the glass into his hand, ''Just this one.''

''Why?'' Donghyuk tilted his head. ''Did something happen?''

''Nothing in particular. I just felt like I need a drink.''

''Is something worrying you, then?'' he questioned, watching how Yunhyeong brought the glass to his lips and drank it empty.

''Yeah,'' the other then nodded, ''I do have worries, Donghyuk.'' He turned to stare at him with a tired look, ''Want to have a drink?''

''Did I use to drink before?''

''You did. In some occasions,'' Yunhyeong said slowly as he stood up to get a glass for him.

''What type of occasions?''

''When we'd sit down for a while... and talk about life.'' Yunhyeong soon landed a glass on the counter in front of Donghyuk before sitting down again.

''I'd usually have this with ice, but this time we'll have to go without,'' he said as he poured the brownish liquid into both of the glasses. Donghyuk stared at the one in front of himself, and after not making a single move to take it he moved his eyes onto the other man.

"What's worrying you, Yunhyeong?" he asked with a raised brow.

Yunhyeong brushed his fingers through his hair with a tired smile. "Many things..." he replied slowly. It wasn't hard to notice from the man's way speaking and movements that Yunhyeong had drank a few glasses already.

Donghyuk stayed quiet as the other looked like he was thinking about something carefully, as if he was deciding which words he should use.

"Mainly it's... my father. The one giving me worries," Yunhyeong finally spoke, staring down at the surface of the table. "Since I'm the oldest, he's constantly breathing on my neck as he wants me to become successful like him. He has set such goals and standards for me..."

Donghyuk looked at Yunhyeong's face when the older emptied another glass in one go. He bit his lip and lowered his gaze. ‘’You haven’t mentioned that earlier…’’

‘’I know,’’ Yunhyeong sighed, ‘’There’s no reason for me to make you worry because of me. It has nothing to do with you anyway. My father is only interested in me and my doings.’’

Donghyuk felt a twist in his stomach and he shifted a little on his chair. ‘’It’s weird… the way you’re saying that,’’ he said carefully.

‘’How is it weird?’’

‘’I… you say ‘my father’. Isn’t it supposed to be ‘our father’?’’ Donghyuk glanced up at Yunhyeong, who halted in the middle of his process of pouring more liquor into his glass. The man’s face broke into another tipsy smile, however, and he landed the bottle calmly on the table.

‘’That’s right, Donghyuk,’’ Yunhyeong nodded. ‘’You know what? Your older brother is kind of drunk right now. I’m sorry if I’m speaking nonsense.’’

Donghyuk took a deep breath which he hadn’t noticed he had been holding, and smiled a little as he realized that the other’s words seemed reasonable. ‘’It’s alright. Maybe you shouldn’t go overboard with that,’’ he said while nodding towards Yunhyeong’s glass.

‘’I’m fine, I’m fine,’’ Yunhyeong waved his hand casually and sighed. ‘’…It has been hard for you, hasn’t it?’’ the man asked after a couple of seconds of silence. Their eyes met and Donghyuk felt a heat on his cheeks for a reason he wasn’t aware of. The way Yunhyeong looked at him was different. The look in his eyes was something Donghyuk hadn’t witnessed before. It was deep, in a way. Donghyuk couldn’t tell why it made him feel so strange.

‘’I feel like I shouldn’t say that. Because you’ve taken such a good care of me,’’ he finally answered and broke the eye contact. He regretted how he had broken down in front of the other earlier that night, but he hadn’t been in control of his emotions that moment. It had ended well, however. Donghyuk had calmed down quickly and Yunhyeong hadn’t asked any further questions about it. Everything had continued just like one could conclude.

‘’You’re still having a hard time. Don’t try to hide that fact, Donghyuk,’’ Yunhyeong said. He still had his eyes on Donghyuk, and he suddenly reached out his hand to cup the other’s cheek. The touch was sudden and the younger flinched a bit, his eyes shooting back up to Yunhyeong’s face.

‘’You’re very dear to me, did you know that?’’ Yunhyeong asked silently. He was apparently drunker than Donghyuk had first assumed. ‘’I promise, I will always protect you, okay?’’

Donghyuk swallowed. ‘’Is there something I should be protected from?’’

‘’This world is an evil place,’’ Yunhyeong smiled in a way that looked slightly forced. ‘’In this world, people are willing to cause harm on others for their own benefit. I want to keep you away from those people.’’

The hand left Donghyuk’s cheek. Yunhyeong turned back towards his glass and raised it up at the same level with his face, elbow resting on the table. Donghyuk stared at him with a slight confusion, biting his lip as he was trying to decide whether or not he should ask a question that was bothering him.

‘’Yunhyeong… Did something happen before I lost my memory?’’

The other man didn’t move. ‘’No. Nothing out of ordinary,’’ Yunhyeong finally answered and took another drink. ‘’Why?’’

‘’Just curious…’’ Donghyuk mumbled while looking at the full glass in front of him. ‘’I… I think I should go back to sleep.’’

‘’Mmh… You probably should,’’ Yunhyeong replied slowly.

‘’Maybe you should go, too,’’ Donghyuk suggested carefully, earning a scoff from the other.

‘’Not yet,’’ he said, ‘’I’m not wasted enough.’’

The younger opened his mouth to say something but closed it soon after, grabbing his water bottle from the table and standing up.

‘’Well, good night,’’ he said silently, sparing one more glance at Yunhyeong before turning to leave the room.

 

Donghyuk didn’t sleep well that night. A few times he was able to doze off for a couple of ten minutes, but mostly he lied wide awake with his thoughts. He was kind of scared of falling asleep, in case he’d see another distressing dream like the one before. It was nothing like being awake was any better, as his thoughts were able to wander freely.

He thought about Junhoe. About his words, and mainly about his expression. The man had looked so worried, scared even. If the things that he had said to Donghyuk had been a lie, Junhoe would probably be one of the best actors in the nation.

For a few times he raised the covers to take a look at his knee, to make sure that he had really fallen down and injured it. Each time the bandage was there to tell him that it had indeed been real, not another bad dream.

When the world outside the window started to show the first signs of the dawn, Donghyuk accepted the fact that there was no use laying there anymore. His head felt light from the lack of sleep when he sat up, but he couldn't find himself to be bothered. Donghyuk wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he still got up and headed out of his room.

The house had a weirdly calm atmosphere when the man walked down the stairs. He was the only one awake, at least it seemed so. Was Yunhyeong still downstairs, he wasn't sure. Donghyuk hadn't heard any sounds outside his room the whole night after their brief conversation.

The living room was empty, and soon he found out that so was the kitchen and the dining room. Donghyuk saw two empty glasses on the table along with an almost-but-not-quite empty bottle. Yunhyeong was gone, however. According to the amount of liquor that had disappeared from the bottle, Donghyuk could conclude that the other wouldn't be in a very good condition where ever he had decided to go.

Yunhyeong didn’t seem to be downstairs, much to Donghyuk’s surprise. He had either found his way out of the house or actually managed to walk up the stairs without making any noise that would have caught the other’s attention. Going upstairs, Donghyuk first peeked into Chanwoo’s room, mainly to see whether the younger was home after all. The room was empty, just like he had assumed.

When Donghyuk soon after opened the door to Yunhyeong’s room, his eyebrows rose lightly as he saw the older sleeping safe and sound on his bed. He stepped in, approaching Yunhyeong slowly and then sitting down at the edge of the mattress.

‘’I almost got worried because of you,’’ he smirked, ‘’But it seems that you’re doing just fine on your own.’’

Donghyuk reached over to brush the hair off of Yunhyeong’s face, only to stir a bit when the other suddenly spoke.

‘’I’ll fight you…’’ Yunhyeong muttered with closed eyes while turning to lay on his side. ‘’You piece of shit.’’

The corner of Donghyuk’s lips rose in amusement. ‘’You must think I’m Chanwoo, right?’’

He stood up to take a blanket from the foot of the bed and threw it over Yunhyeong’s body. _Someone’s going to be pretty hungover later on._

Donghyuk sighed and turned to look around the room. It was a pretty dull compared to his, he noted.

Yunhyeong mumbled something incoherent, catching the other’s attention again. He stared at the still obviously drunken man silently before his eyes spotted an object. Biting his lip, Donghyuk glanced at Yunhyeong before looking back at the key that was forgotten on the night stand.

_I definitely shouldn't do it._

 

His home street looked so much different in the morning. The sun had barely risen yet, and the leaves of the trees were dripping water; it had obviously rained during the night. There was no one outside besides Donghyuk, who closed the gate as silently as possible before walking up the street. His hands were firmly in the pockets of his hoodie which he had put on after snatching the key from Yunhyeong's room.

 _Just a short visit outside, there's nothing wrong with that_ , he had assured himself.

Donghyuk was holding onto that tiny, almost nonexistent possibility of seeing Junhoe again. The man had clearly had something to say to him the previous evening, and this time Donghyuk would be ready to listen. At least he thought so.

Approaching the place the two had met, he quickened his pace as he was afraid that he'd be too late if he didn't. But as assumed, Junhoe wasn't there. When some time later Donghyuk stopped in front of a lone plastic bag laying on the ground – which he knew would have a carton of broken eggs inside -, he realized that he had arrived the exact same spot it all had happened. This time, it was all quiet. Other than an early dog walker, the street was empty. The store in a short distance was also closed.

_You didn't expect him to wait for you the whole night, did you?_

Donghyuk gave a sigh and crouched down, leaning his back against a gray stone wall behind him. He could wait for a while. Maybe Junhoe would return.

Maybe.

A long time passed with Donghyuk kicking on the ground, pacing back and forth, jumping on his place to see better further of the street and staying crouched down with his chin resting on his arm. Junhoe still didn't show up. It was kind of stupid to expect him to, Donghyuk admitted.

 

The key was returned on the night stand, and Yunhyeong slept late. He gave his first signs of life in the noon as he walked downstairs to get water. Donghyuk had to admit that the other looked terrible.

 

 

Later that day Donghyuk was keeping himself entertained by watching a counseling show on TV, when he heard Yunhyeong calling him from upstairs.

‘’Go and change into something a little more formal,’’ the older said as he stepped into his view. Every sign of his hangover from only few hours earlier seemed to have disappeared. ‘’There is somewhere we need to go.’’

Donghyuk watched how Yunhyeong walked back into his room without bothering to specify anything, and then gave a deep sigh as he got up from the couch he had been laying on for hours straight.

Yunhyeong hadn’t even said what he had meant my ‘formal’, and when Donghyuk was standing in front of his closet, he felt quite lost. Settling for something that was better than sweatpants and t-shirt but still didn’t go overboard, he went back downstairs. Yunhyeong was already there - wearing clothes similar to his much to Donghyuk’s relief – leaning against the back of the couch.

‘’Oh, you’re ready. Good,’’ Yunhyeong said as he slipped his phone into his pocket. ‘’Mr. Han will be here any time now.’’

‘’Where are we going?’’ Donghyuk asked.

‘’Our father wants to see us.’’

 

Donghyuk stared out of the window like an excited child during the car ride towards the heart of Seoul. It was his first time visiting anywhere that far away from home after losing his memory and it felt almost like a vacation to see so many new places outside.

He had almost forgotten about why they had got into Mr. Han’s car with all of his awe, but was shot back to reality once he had taken a glance towards Yunhyeong’s direction. The older looked dead serious while staring down at his feet, hand rubbing his forehead slowly.

‘’Yunhyeong?’’ Donghyuk asked which made the other wake up from his thoughts.

‘’Huh?’’

‘’What’s with your expression?’’ the younger asked curiously.

Yunhyeong blinked a few times before giving a quick smile and looking away, ‘’Nothing.’’

‘’Are you feeling alright? I mean... you drank quite a lot last night.’’

‘’I’m good,’’ Yunhyeong answered with a nod. ‘’I don’t tend to have very bad hangovers anyway.’’

‘’If you say so.’’

 

Soon the view outside was filled with large, tall buildings at every direction. Donghyuk saw masses of people walking on the streets and a busy traffic on the road. It felt strange to witness so much life at once, being rather used to the calm neighborhood back home. Donghyuk still supposed that it was something he had saw many times before he just couldn’t… well, remember.

Mr. Han drove the car to an underground parking lot of a building that Donghyuk had taken a glance at and noted that it seemed to be taller than any other building near it. _This has to be the company building our father lives in_ , he thought while biting his lip without realizing it himself.

Once the car was stopped, they all stepped out and Yunhyeong and Mr. Han expertly headed towards the elevator at the end of the parking lot, a hesitant Donghyuk scampering behind them. They got in, Yunhyeong pressed a button which was almost the top floor, and a heavy silence landed among them as the elevator doors were shut.

‘’Uh… What type of position does he have here?’’ Donghyuk asked after they had gone up three floors. Thanks to the reflective surface of the elevator door, Donghyuk could see Mr. Han’s frown before the suited man turned his head towards Yunhyeong.

‘’You haven’t told him?’’

‘’Told me what?’’

They were now both staring at Yunhyeong, who was leaning against the elevator wall and sighed heavily. ‘’He’s the general manager,’’ he said.

‘’What?’’ Donghyuk’s mouth opened in disbelief. ‘’Like… the CEO?’’

‘’Yeah,’’ Yunhyeong said nonchalantly and the younger turned to look at Mr. Han questioningly, who just cleared his throat and discarded his gaze from him.

 

When the elevator doors finally opened, there was a wide hallway in front of them. Donghyuk was feeling doubtful about following the other two as they stepped out, still hadn’t fully progressed what he had just heard. Why was he hearing this just now? Was it really not such big of a deal like Yunhyeong allowed him to understand? His feet seemed to work better than his mind, however, and he was walking behind Yunhyeong and Mr. Han as they proceeded down the hallway. They were passed by a group of old men in suits, who all gave a bow to their (mostly Yunhyeong’s) direction as a brief greeting. Donghyuk seemed to be the only one to acknowledge them as the other two just kept going like it was nothing, adding more bewilderment to his thoughts.

They arrived to the end of the hallway, where there was a wide wooden door with another man in suit standing in front of it. Once he saw them arriving, he turned to open the door and walked in ahead.

‘’They are here,’’ the man informed someone inside the room and gave a bow. Mr. Han stopped at the door so that Donghyuk could go in ahead of him. Following Yunhyeong, he walked inside a huge room which was clearly an office. Donghyuk saw a wide table with a name plate on it, _General Manager Song Tae Hoon_. At the other side of the room there were black leather armchairs, where he saw three people sitting down.

‘’Great!’’ one of them, a man with kind looking facial features said and stood up. ‘’My guests were just about to leave.’’

The two at the opposite side of a small coffee table, a man and a woman, also stood up.

‘’Yes. We shall meet again,’’ the man said politely before approaching the door after the woman. When they were just passing Yunhyeong and Donghyuk, however, the woman suddenly stopped on her tracks.

‘’Donghyuk,’’ she called, and the said man turned to look at her with a questioning but kind expression. She lifted her gaze onto his eyes, looking at Donghyuk deeply. She was much older than him, most likely long past her thirties, and her eyes were warm.

‘’I…’’ she hesitated for a moment. ‘’Are you feeling alright? I mean… I heard about what happened.’’

Donghyuk gave a small smile and nodded his head. ‘’Yes, I’m fine,’’ he replied. ‘’But how did you… Do we know each other?’’

The woman lowered her eyes and smiled at the ground. ‘’We’ve met before. Briefly, like now.’’

‘’Let’s go,’’ the man behind her urged, and the two continued their way out of the office. Soon Donghyuk heard the door closing, and he turned his full attention to the man who was smiling at him kindly.

‘’Must be great to have so many people caring for you. Have a seat,’’ he said. ‘’Mr. Han, go and grab some coffee at the staff room. I will let you know when we’re done.’’

Donghyuk could hear another person exiting the room as he sat down at one of the armchairs where the previous guests had been sitting, Yunhyeong taking a seat next to him. He watched carefully at the man who was left with them. His eyes were exactly like Yunhyeong’s, Donghyuk noticed. He didn’t have to be genius to understand that the man was their father.

‘’Well, then. Have you been well? I heard you were sick,’’ the man said and Donghyuk nodded slowly.

‘’I was… for a short while,’’ he replied before hesitantly glancing at Yunhyeong. ‘’But I recovered quickly.’’

‘’That’s good. Have you taken your medication every day?’’ their father asked.

‘’Yes. Yunhyeong has made sure I never forget about it.’’

‘’And your memories?’’

Donghyuk blinked a few times as he hesitated with his answer. ‘’Well, nothing has really returned after… that night.’’

‘’Which means that my face is also unfamiliar to you.’’

He felt a sudden heat on his cheeks, which made Donghyuk press his head down lightly and lower his eyes onto the tips of his shoes.

‘’It’s nothing to be ashamed of, though,’’ the man said and shifted to sit more comfortably. ‘’I have been trying to get you the best treatment, but as time has passed, it has turned out that nothing really helps except for medication.’’

Donghyuk had noticed how quiet Yunhyeong was. The older was just there, sitting still and glaring at the air. It felt hard to believe that the person was the exact same Yunhyeong who would fool around with him or make them some late night snack when Donghyuk would only mention of being hungry. Now Donghyuk saw only someone with a dark aura, someone he didn’t seem to know. And the most bothersome part of it was that he had no idea why the older was being that way.

‘’Anyways,’’ their father spoke again making Donghyuk return his attention back to him, ‘’I wanted to see you personally to make sure you’re indeed alright now. Yunhyeong must’ve told you about me, right?’’

He glanced at Yunhyeong once more. ‘’I… think he has spared me from details,’’ Donghyuk answered.

‘’Is that so?’’ the man turned to look at Yunhyeong. ‘’Why is that?’’

‘’Just…’’ Yunhyeong said, and for a moment they both waited for him to continue, but the man only sighed and looked away. Their father did the same before nodding slowly to himself.

‘’Alright then, I’ll give you the details. Do you know what type of company this is?’’ he asked and continued after Donghyuk shook his head.

‘’This company is called STH Pharma, which manufactures the best pharmaceutical products of the entire country. We collaborate with hospitals all around Asia, and soon we will take also part in the Western market. Our stock value is currently up in the clouds.’’

‘’Oh,’’ was everything Donghyuk managed to say.

‘’As you might have already noticed, you are living very comfortably because of the company’s profit. And actually, being the oldest of the three, Yunhyeong will someday inherit all of this.’’

Their father gave a look at the said man, eyes full of expectation. Yunhyeong still didn’t speak. Turning his head towards the other, Donghyuk couldn’t help but notice the discomfort in the older’s expression.

 _"Since I'm the oldest, he's constantly breathing on my neck as he wants me to become successful like him."_ Yunhyeong’s drunken words from the previous night suddenly echoed in Donghyuk’s head.

‘’I see,’’ he finally replied, eyes still casted on Yunhyeong.

 

The car ride back was quiet, and the atmosphere on the back seat was oppressive. Both of them sat quiet with their eyes down onto their shoes.

The visit had stayed brief, with their father telling about his company and then asking Donghyuk some more questions about his condition. Yunhyeong had barely said a word the whole time.

‘’Why didn’t you tell me?’’ Donghyuk finally asked, feeling a slight bitterness in his guts as Mr. Han kept driving on the highway.

‘’Tell you what?’’ Yunhyeong asked.

‘’That! All of it. You just let me understand that our father is working in some company, not that he owns the whole thing.’’

‘’Are you raising your voice at me?’’ Yunhyeong asked sounding clearly annoyed.

‘’Yes I am!’’ Donghyuk said as he was starting to feel irritated as well. ‘’Did you actually think that it would be a good idea not to tell me that? It’s nothing but my life after all, right?’’

Yunhyeong finally lifted his gaze to look at Donghyuk with gritted teeth. ‘’Oh yeah, go ahead and tell me what a shit excuse of a brother I am, after all I’ve done to you.’’

‘’That’s not what I mean,’’ Donghyuk rolled his eyes and sighed. ‘’Do you really think it’s not that big of a deal?’’

‘’And do you really think it’s easy to take care of someone who disappears once in a while and has to be picked home from the police station, huh?!’’

‘’Is it my fault not to remember?’’ Donghyuk asked, not letting the other’s words affect him even though he could feel a bit of heat on his cheeks. ‘’And why are you getting angry in this situation?’’

‘’Sir?’’

‘’What?!’’

They all seemed to be a little startled by Yunhyeong’s outburst at Mr. Han, who had decided to join the conversation at the worst possible time. The driver just cleared his throat, however, before continuing.

‘’I decided not to pay any attention to it earlier, but now it seems that it’s not a coincidence. Someone has been following us since we left your neighborhood.’’

The heated conversation only a few seconds earlier was forgotten immediately as they both turned on their seats to look back, where there was a black car driving behind theirs.

‘’Are you sure?’’ Yunhyeong asked. ‘’Try driving a little faster.’’

Mr. Han did as he was told, speeding up a little bit as the two on the back seat followed what the black car would do. To their surprise, the car behind them also increased its speed, keeping the same distance to them.

‘’Go past those cars ahead of us,’’ Yunhyeong ordered as he frowned. They watched how the car kept driving after them, not getting lost among the other cars on the highway.

‘’What the hell? Pull over,’’ Yunhyeong said which made Mr. Han hesitate a bit.

‘’Sir?’’ the driver asked.

‘’I said pull over.’’

Mr. Han started to slow down, flashing the blinkers towards the side of the road. The black car behind them, however, suddenly speeded and drove off as if beating a hasty retreat. Donghyuk managed to get a glance only at the darkened windows as it passed them.

‘’Did you get to see the license plate?’’ the older asked.

‘’Yes. I will find out the car’s owner as soon as possible,’’ Mr. Han answered and Yunhyeong finally sat back on his seat.

‘’You do that,’’ he mumbled.

‘’What the heck was that?’’ Donghyuk asked with a confused frown.

‘’That’s something I’d also like to know,’’ Yunhyeong replied with a sigh.

 

It was the last thing that was said during the rest of the car ride, which allowed the earlier tension return between the two on the back seat.

When they got back home, Yunhyeong didn’t say a word as they stepped inside the house. The older stomped up the stairs and went straight to his bedroom, slamming his door shut clearly louder than necessary. Donghyuk stood at the end of the stairs, glaring at the direction Yunhyeong had gone.

The brief incident with the strange car had sure distracted him for a moment, but he was still annoyed. Donghyuk hadn’t gotten any answer to his question, and Yunhyeong giving him a cold shoulder definitely added fuel to the fire. He didn’t know he could be angry, especially at Yunhyeong, but it seemed that his own personality was finally starting to show.

Donghyuk walked up the stairs and headed to his bedroom, making sure that his door slammed shut louder than Yunhyeong’s.


	5. Chapter 5

Donghyuk just didn’t understand. Yunhyeong, who he trusted with his life, was an heir of the owner of one of the nation’s top businesses. And he had no idea.

At first Donghyuk felt betrayed. It was as if he had been lied to all this time after his memory loss. Soon after the feeling turned into disappointment. Did Yunhyeong see him as something so naïve that Donghyuk didn’t need to know? Even though they were supposed to have the same father?

After an hour of sulking inside his bedroom, Donghyuk started self-reflecting. Yunhyeong was a busy man who went to visit somewhere quite often. And he also had his father’s company to worry about, not to mention the things the older had told him the previous night. Donghyuk was only making things harder for Yunhyeong. All the little spare time the other had, he would always spend it with the younger.

_‘’And do you really think it’s easy to take care of someone who disappears once in a while and has to be picked home from the police station, huh?!’’_

Yunhyeong’s words that echoed in Donghyuk’s head suddenly caused a clenching feeling in his chest. He had been way too harsh at him. He was sure Yunhyeong had his reasons.

 

With his head hanging low, Donghyuk opened the door of his room and stepped out. He was about to walk over to Yunhyeong’s room and knock on the door, when a smell of food from downstairs stopped him. It made Donghyuk realize that he hadn’t eaten anything the whole day and he placed his arm over his stomach as he slowly walked down the stairs.

Yunhyeong was in the kitchen, his back towards the entrance where Donghyuk appeared silently like a scolded puppy. He noticed that the older had changed his clothes, and was now wearing a black t-shirt and shorts. It made Yunhyeong look so… normal. As if he was back being the same Yunhyeong Donghyuk was used to and not that man who he had went to meet their father with. He had no idea who that person had been, to tell the truth. Donghyuk watched the other silently for a moment, still not daring to step further into the room.

‘’I thought you didn’t cook much nowadays,’’ he finally said in order to inform the older about his presence.

Yunhyeong turned to look at him over his shoulder briefly.

‘’Yeah, I didn’t use to. However, since the situation is now different…’’ the older shrugged. ‘’Yesterday I told Mrs. Gong to have the rest of the week off, so that I could do this myself.’’

‘’Oh, okay…’’ Donghyuk replied silently with his gaze firmly on the floor. He could see Yunhyeong turning back at him again.

‘’Go sit. It’s almost ready.’’

Donghyuk obeyed sheepishly, moving to sit without saying a word. He kept his eyes on the surface of the table, listening how Yunhyeong moved around the room. Usually the other would be talking nonstop, saying terrible puns and laughing at them himself. However Yunhyeong stayed quiet too. The tension between them wasn’t as big as earlier that day, but it was still there. They both could tell for sure.

Soon enough the older carried a casserole to the table, and the smell made Donghyuk beg his stomach not to grumble aloud. He didn’t dare to look up at Yunhyeong’s face. Instead of being annoyed at the other like before, Donghyuk felt ashamed. He blamed himself for the atmosphere of the room.

Yunhyeong placed a rice bowl in front of him, like he always did, and sat down on the opposite seat after bringing them the utensils.

‘’Eat a lot,’’ Yunhyeong said.

‘’I’m sorry,’’ Donghyuk finally said, heat rising onto his face instantly.

The other was quiet for a moment as he stopped his movements. Then Donghyuk could hear him sigh.

‘’Don’t be. I’m sorry. I was being a dick today.’’

‘’I know I’m making things hard for you even though you try to act like I’m not,’’ Donghyuk said, ignoring the older’s words. ‘’I really shouldn’t blame you for anything.’’

‘’Donghyuk, listen. That thing that I said earlier… I didn’t mean it. I don’t know what got into me today, honestly. There’s just been so much going on lately, I think I was just nervous having you go there,’’ Yunhyeong ran his hand through his chocolate brown hair and exhaled. ‘’I guess I didn’t tell you because… you already have it tough right now and I wanted to protect you from having anything else to worry about. I don’t know. I made a mistake and I’m sorry, Donghyuk.’’

The younger could feel his heart sinking at Yunhyeong’s words and swallowed. ‘’It’s okay, I get it. I’m not mad at you. I mean, I was at first but now I understand. You just wanted me to have less stress all this time.’’

‘’I shouldn’t have done so, though…’’ Yunhyeong sighed.

‘’Yunhyeong,’’ Donghyuk bit his lip.

‘’Yeah?’’

‘’Thank you,’’ the younger said, making the other man lift his eyes onto his. ‘’Thank you for being so considerate towards me. However, I would like it if we could have no more secrets between each other.’’

A small smile rose onto Yunhyeong’s lips. ‘’Okay, deal. And you better eat before it gets cold. I worked hard for this food.’’

Donghyuk nodded excitedly, feeling a small relief for being finally able to dig in to the food. The delicious smell of it had been a torture.

‘’So, where’s Chanwoo?’’ Donghyuk asked while still chewing as Yunhyeong got up to get them something to drink.

‘’We really wanted to work it out,’’ the other sighed while opening the refrigerator. ‘’Having more than one person taking care of you seemed much better considering your well-being. Chanwoo wasn’t having any of that, however.’’

Yunhyeong brought two cups of lemon juice to the table and sat back to his seat. ‘’This is not the house we originally live in. There’s another place, a mansion, actually. I have a strong sense that Chanwoo has gone there.’’

‘’Then, why are we living here?’’ Donghyuk asked curiously.

‘’It was my request to have this place a few years ago. I hated my childhood home. It’s way too big and it’s located in the middle of nowhere. It also holds some bad memories.’’

‘’Have I ever been there?’’

‘’Just once,’’ Yunhyeong answered. ‘’I think you didn’t really like it there either.’’

‘’I like this house,’’ Donghyuk smiled.

‘’Right? I like it too,’’ Yunhyeong nodded.

Donghyuk took another bite of the food, but his smile faded as he chewed when he remembered another thing.

Yunhyeong noticed it and raised his brows curiously. ‘’Something wrong?’’

‘’You…’’ Donghyuk started and blinked his eyes. ‘’You don’t want to be the next CEO of our father’s company, right?’’

For a moment Yunhyeong looked a little taken aback, but soon snapped out of it giving a timid chuckle. ‘’What do you mean? Of course I do.’’

‘’You just don’t seem very happy about it,’’ Donghyuk pouted.

‘’Well, it’s a big responsibility, you know.’’

‘’You’re a bad liar.’’

‘’It’s not that I don’t want it,’’ Yunhyeong sighed as he gave in. ‘’I’m just not that confident about it yet. But it’s okay because it’s going to take years before father retires. I will be ready when the time comes.’’

Donghyuk nodded his head slowly, but he still wasn’t done with his questions. ‘’If you really are Song Tae Hoon’s son and heir, how come I found nothing about you online?’’

The other’s surprised expression slowly turned into an amused smile. ‘’Why, did you search me?’’

‘’I did,’’ Donghyuk admitted and lowered his gaze while fidgeting in his seat. ‘’And Chanwoo too. And myself…’’ For the first time he had done something with his phone other than playing games. He had also searched for their father and his company. They had showed lots of results.

Yunhyeong chuckled. ‘’The thing is, our father found it safer not to let the public know about us. People don’t know that he has children in the first place.’’

‘’Oh,’’ Donghyuk gave a small nod.

‘’Yeah, he wants us to live peacefully,’’ Yunhyeong said before taking a sip of his juice. Then they could hear something buzzing, and the older reached for his pocket and picked up his phone.

‘’Yes, Mr. Han,’’ Yunhyeong said. ‘’Did you find out the car owner?’’

The man listened to the voice from the other end and gave a small frown. ‘’Kim Jiwon? That doesn’t ring any bells to me.’’

Donghyuk halted. Jiwon? He could swear he had heard the name somewhere before.

He suddenly remembered the phone call he had heard in the store the other night. Koo Junhoe had talked about someone with that name.

_"Anyway, I think Jiwon should start checking the area instead of me.’’_

Upon realizing, Donghyuk forgot to chew and started coughing violently as he nearly choked. Yunhyeong gave him a worried look while still listening to the other end and Donghyuk took a huge gulp of his juice to get the food down.

‘’No, just let it be. Let’s reconsider if it happens again. I’m hanging up,’’ the man said and removed the phone from his ear before getting up and walking over to pat Donghyuk’s back. ‘’What are you doing? You have to chew before you swallow, idiot.’’ He said as Donghyuk’s coughs started to die down.

‘’I’m living with an actual child,’’ Yunhyeong sighed slightly amused as he went back to sit on his chair.

Donghyuk gave a pout while rubbing his chest through his shirt. He realized that there was something else he had to make a search for.

 

After finishing dinner Donghyuk told Yunhyeong that he would already go to sleep, using his poor slumber the previous night as an explanation. Closing the door of his room, Donghyuk hurried over to the bed and grabbed his phone from the mattress where he had left it. Everything that had happened during the day, meeting their father and the small issue with Yunhyeong, had almost made him forget about all the weird things that were going on.

Almost.

The search results for ‘Koo Junhoe’ popped on the screen, and Donghyuk slowly scrolled down. Eyeing the links that were offered, he stopped at one that said _‘See Koo Junhoe’s profile’_. Once the page was opened, Donghyuk instantly lost his grip on the device and had it drop on the floor in the progress. He hastily picked it back up, his eyes open wide as several pictures filled his screen.

He found him. It was definitely him.

Koo Junhoe hadn’t lied about his name, that was for sure. The profile he had found had several images of the face he had met eyes with in the previous evening. Donghyuk started scrolling down on the page.

 _‘’I've known you for over ten years. It's me, Koo Junhoe! Don't you seriously recognize me?’’_ The words echoed from his memory, and he frowned lightly.

‘’Was I really part of your life, or are you just that full of yourself?’’ Donghyuk scoffed silently as he noticed that most of the pictures in Junhoe’s profile were taken of his own face. He had to admit that the man was handsome in a way, though.

Donghyuk rolled onto his stomach as he kept scrolling, checking each detail in order to find anything that could tell him that he and Junhoe knew each other. One of the pictures soon caught his eye and he opened it for a better look.

 _‘’Best part-timers in town’’_ , said the caption of a picture with three men with matching green aprons. Junhoe was closest to the camera giving it a small smirk. Next there was a guy with curved eyes and cheeky grin. The third guy had his face covered by his hand that was positioned in a peace sign.

Donghyuk swallowed after zooming closer to the third guy. He was aware of the mole he had on his neck. The guy with a peace sign also had one.

After doing more scrolling Donghyuk found a video. _Posted one year ago_ , the text said below it. He clicked on the play button and narrowed his eyes as the clip started. Someone was filming behind a man with who walked to a refrigerator and opened it silently. Once the person turned towards the camera, Donghyuk’s stomach made a black flip.

He was looking at himself.

Donghyuk from one year ago smirked and reached for something. ‘’Hanbin fell asleep,’’ he whispered to the camera and shut the refrigerator.

‘’Fuck, he is going to kill us,’’ a voice said behind the camera and Donghyuk was pretty sure it belonged to Junhoe.

‘’Shh!,’’ Donghyuk from one year ago hushed as he made his way to another room with something looking like a bottle in his hand, the person with the camera following behind him. They arrived to a couch where a guy was sleeping, and Donghyuk recognized him from the picture he saw earlier. Donghyuk from one year ago crouched down next to him, and put the head of the bottle to the guy’s open hand. He squeezed out some whipping cream and tensed his shoulders in anticipation whether the guy woke up or not. The sleeping man didn’t show any reaction and a silent giggle was heard behind the camera. Donghyuk from one year ago moved a bit, bringing his hand to the guy’s face and giving his cheek a gentle scratch. The guy wrinkled his brows and brought his hand up from instinct, slamming the whipping cream all over his face. The silence of the video was broken by loud laughter and the camera captured the guy waking up and looking confusedly at his hand covered by the white substance.

‘’Oh shit! Run!’’ Donghyuk’s voice said, and the footage turned wobbly with some more laughing being heard before the video ended.

The hand that was holding Donghyuk’s phone had started shaking lightly. He had absolutely no memory of being in a situation like that. The guy’s face in the video was completely unfamiliar to him.

Yet he had been there.

The video started over, and Donghyuk paused it when he turned towards the camera again. He stared at his own face for a long time, the slight feeling of nausea getting back to him.

‘’Who exactly are you?’’ Donghyuk sighed. The guy on the screen just stared back with a smirk.

He closed the video and scrolled back up, searching for the most recent post in Junhoe’s profile. It was another selfie.

 

_‘’Today’s weather is nice!’’_

 

_Posted 2 months ago._

 

Donghyuk turned off the screen and tossed his phone on the night table, grabbing the covers from the bed and throwing them over himself. This was all too confusing and making him sick, and all Donghyuk wanted to do was hide. Even for a short moment.

Not even a minute passed with him laying under the covers still like a statue before he heard a soft knock on the door.

‘’You’re sleeping with the lights on?’’ Yunhyeong’s voice asked as the man stepped into the room. Donghyuk could hear him approach the bed and land something on the night table. ‘’Make sure you take this before you fall asleep, alright?’’

Donghyuk gave a small hum and Yunhyeong patted on the lump on the bed softly as he made his way back.

‘’Sleep well,’’ the man said and left, turning off the lights before the door was closed.

Donghyuk’s hand peeked out, fondling for the switch of the small lamp on his table. Then he moved the covers from his face taking a look at the night table. There was a small blue pill with a bottle of water. Sitting up, he took the pill into his hand and gave it a hard glare. He threw the covers aside to walk to the bathroom and flush the pill down the toilet, but halted in the midway as his face softened. After giving his lower lip a gentle bite, Donghyuk sighed and sat back. He grabbed the water bottle and swallowed the pill, taking a deep inhale afterwards.

‘’Shit,’’ he whispered.

 

 

The fact that Yunhyeong had told Mrs. Gong not to come to work didn’t apparently seem to hold the housemaid back, as Donghyuk met her in the kitchen the next morning.

‘’Good morning! Did you sleep well? I’ve made you breakfast, go sit and eat!’’ Mrs. Gong said being her lovely self. Donghyuk gave her a smile wished her good morning as he made his way to one of the chairs.

Not too long afterwards, Yunhyeong showed up downstairs and when Donghyuk saw the clothes the other was wearing, a disappointed frown appeared on his face.

‘’Are you going somewhere today as well?’’

‘’Good morning to you too, Donghyuk, and yes. Unfortunately,’’ Yunhyeong replied while taking a seat opposite from the other man.

‘’What am I supposed to do all day by myself?’’ Donghyuk whined softly and gave the older a sulky expression. ‘’It’s so boring here…’’

‘’Boring?’’ Yunhyeong raised a brow before eating a spoonful of rice.

Donghyuk sighed and slammed his forehead on the table.

‘’There there,’’ the other said and gave Donghyuk’s hair a small ruffle. ‘’When I become free again, shall we go somewhere and do something fun together?’’

‘’Like what?’’

‘’Anything you want. You can figure it out if you feel bored,’’ Yunhyeong replied with an audible grin. ‘’And I can go get something good to eat on my way back, hm?’’

‘’Do you really think food can solve everything?’’

‘’Knowing you so well, that’s exactly what it does.’’

Donghyuk lifted his head back up and gave a protesting huff. He couldn’t argue with the man’s statement, however.

‘’…Don’t I seriously have any friends?’’ he asked eyeing the surface of the table.

‘’It’s not my fault you’ve been so picky,’’ Yunhyeong replied and pulled at a piece of kimchi with his chopsticks. Donghyuk took his sticks and absently helped the other chop it.

‘’That’s unfair. I don’t recall being like that.’’

‘’Which reminds me, don’t forget your morning meds,’’ the older said before taking a glance at his watch. ‘’I really should get going.’’

Donghyuk watched as the other quickly picked some of the side dishes before getting up.

‘’Already? You didn’t even eat that much,’’ Mrs. Gong frowned while polishing some spoons at the counter. At the background Donghyuk heard a distant beeping noise. The laundry was done.

‘’I did eat enough, don’t worry. Besides, Mr. Han is waiting. See you later Dong. Bye Mrs. Gong!’’ With that, Yunhyeong was already rushing out. The housemaid gave a sigh and a shake of her head.

‘’If only I had the same type of energy you young people have…’’ she said and gave a warm chuckle. Donghyuk gave a smile and got up as well, grabbing his chopsticks and rice bowl.

‘’Oh, don’t mind the dishes! I will do them,’’ Mrs. Gong said, but Donghyuk didn’t listen and made his way over to the sink. He could hear the housemaid chuckle again.

‘’Like said, if only…’’

 

Donghyuk was sitting in his room by the window and looking out at the backyard. The day was sunny and filling all the requirements of an ideal weather. He had a phone in his hand with Koo Junhoe’s profile open on the screen. The fact that Yunhyeong wouldn’t be around that day could actually turn into something good, as there was something Donghyuk had to do. The man straightened his posture as he finally saw the back door opening and Mrs. Gong stepping out with a laundry basket.

 

Sliding on his shoes, Donghyuk sneaked to the back door that was left open and peeked out. He quickly hid behind the wall as the housemaid turned around to grab another piece of clothing to hang it on clothes line. As her back was facing the door again, Donghyuk knew he had to make his move. Quickly but silently, he walked out and proceeded to the corner of the house, taking one more glance back to make sure he wasn’t seen before getting to the side yard. Donghyuk started jogging in order to make it faster to the front gate and opened it as silently as possible.

It was either now or never. There were too many questions without answers. And Donghyuk would rather stay outside for the rest of the day than not getting any.

Like last time, he had no idea where to go or what to look for. It didn’t matter. Outside his chances were better than inside his room, after all.

Junhoe had been at the convenience store up the street, so there was a chance he would show up again. Sure, he hadn’t been there the previous morning, but this time Donghyuk would wait properly and search for the man. He had to.

 

‘’By chance, have you seen a tall guy around my age here this morning?’’

‘’Your age?’’ the store clerk frowned. ‘’I don’t this so. Only some students have come by today.’’

‘’I see,’’ Donghyuk nodded and sighed silently. ‘’Alright then, thank you anyways.’’ He gave a bow of his head and made his way back out. Looking around, he started calculating for his next move before he could hear someone calling for him. As Donghyuk turned, he saw the clerk walking to him.

‘’You know what, I think my memory is pulling tricks on me as I’m getting older… It’s because I’ve seen someone that matches your description. But that was yesterday.’’

‘’You have?’’

‘’Yes. The reason I remember it is because the guy showed up several times, actually. But I think he was with someone. And they were going around in this black Hyundai. Usually I wouldn't pay attention but the car seemed really new," the man said while crossing his arms. ‘’And I’m not very sure, but I might’ve seen that car this morning when I was driving to work.’’

‘’Really?’’ Donghyuk’s eyes widened, ‘’Where was that?’’

‘’Not too long from here, if you go along that road it should be there somewhere…’’

‘’Thank you, this was really helpful! Have a nice day, sir!’’ Donghyuk chirped as he started running towards the direction the clerk pointed before the man had even properly managed to finish his sentence.

Black car. They had been followed by a black car with darkened windows yesterday. Had it really been Junhoe? Donghyuk’s heart was pacing in his chest not only because of the running, but also because of the growing anticipation in him. He couldn’t fail this time. He had to, he needed to see him. Koo Junhoe owed him too many explanations.

Donghyuk kept running as he proceeded along the road, keeping his eyes open and constantly looking around to see a car that would match the one he had already seen.

And when he saw it, Donghyuk stopped as if he had run into a brick wall.

In a distance, a shiny black car with darkened windows was parked at the side of the main road next to the sideway. Donghyuk’s eyes narrowed as he approached it, much slower this time.

His heart jumped as the driver’s door suddenly opened. A man that definitely was not Junhoe stepped out and slammed the door shut, his eyes intently on Donghyuk. Narrow eyes and a sharp jawline were the features Donghyuk took a notice of.

 _Why does it always have to be a different looking guy?_ he cursed to himself while closing his eyes for a short moment. The car man started approaching him, and Donghyuk squeezed his hand into a fist.

‘’You’re Jiwon, right?’’ he asked.

The question made the man stop on his tracks as he looked genuinely surprised.

‘’Okay. Those were definitely not the words I expected to hear from you.’’

‘’So it was you,’’ Donghyuk raised a brow. ‘’You were following us yesterday.’’

‘’I’m not denying that,’’ the man shrugged and ran a hand through his black locks. ‘’That Yunhyeong guy figured me out, huh?’’

‘’Who are you, exactly?’’

‘’I am just someone who was contacted a month or so ago by these two guys who needed help finding their missing friend,’’ Jiwon said and leaned back against the front of his car and showed his hands into his pockets.

‘’Koo Junhoe?’’ Donghyuk asked.

‘’Bingo.’’

‘’Where is he now?’’

‘’He is elsewhere taking rest, for the first time after he met you. Which was exactly what I was hoping to do just when you decided to show up. Typical,’’ Jiwon sighed and gave a scanning look at Donghyuk’s form. ‘’You got his head pretty fucked up that night.’’

‘’He did the same for me,’’ Donghyuk admitted.

‘’Yeah, I heard about it,’’ Jiwon smirked lightly. ‘’This is really fascinating, seeing you in flesh after all those pictures. Just a few days ago I would’ve bet you’d be dead.’’

Donghyuk gave a frown. ‘’Junhoe asked for your help?’’

‘’Along with Kim Hanbin, but I suppose that name doesn’t ring any bells to you right now,’’ Jiwon said arching an eyebrow. Donghyuk could actually connect the name to a face he had seen in Junhoe’s pictures, but he didn’t bother to argue.

‘’So why are you here?’’ Donghyuk could feel how the blood flowed in his veins as his heart kept banging rapidly.

‘’Trying to do what they want me to; get you safe. However I am very aware that there is no use for me to even try to take you anywhere. You’re still way too cautious and most likely believing all the bullshit you’ve been fed all this time. Though, you must’ve seen that something is not right, haven’t you?’’ Jiwon asked crossing his arms on his chest. ‘’You were looking for Junhoe, right?’’

For a short moment Donghyuk wanted to deny, but he knew that his body language was already telling the truth. He lowered his gaze and sighed. ‘’I just wanted to know what he was talking about,’’ he said and chewed the inside of his cheek.

Jiwon stayed quiet for a moment before nodding his head and walking over to the driver’s door and opening it. ‘’Well, there are definitely two sides to all of this. It would be pretty selfish of you to listen to only one of them, don’t you think?’’ The man reached for something in this car and then returned to his previous spot, handing Donghyuk a piece of yellow paper. ‘’It’s Junhoe’s number. I recommend you to contact him and let him tell you what he has to say. After all, that’s what you want as well.’’

Donghyuk took a step forward to take the note, gazing over the number that was scribbled on it. When he looked up at Jiwon, he saw the man picking a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

‘’I admit that I’ve never met Song Yunhyeong and I know nothing about the guy, but I have to warn you that he is dangerous. What kind of sick individual erases a person’s entire memory?’’

‘’You’re right about one thing,’’ Donghyuk answered. ‘’You don’t know him.’’

‘’Instantly defensive you are,’’ Jiwon brought one of the cigarettes to his lips and returned the pack to his pocket, fishing out a lighter this time. ‘’Promise that you will call Junhoe, alright?’’

‘’I…’’ Donghyuk started and took a few steps back, showing the piece of paper into his pocket. ‘’I’m gonna go now.’’

‘’One more thing,’’ Jiwon called just as Donghyuk was about to turn around and head back. ‘’You told Junhoe that you’re on medication, didn’t you? Stop taking it, it’s possible that it’s preventing your memory from returning.’’

Donghyuk gave the man a hard glare as Jiwon blew out a cloud of smoke, before he started to walk away. He didn’t look back, but he could feel Jiwon’s gaze on him as he went.

 

 

_You go out looking for answers, but once you get a chance to have them you decide to chicken out?_

Donghyuk sighed as he stared at the yellow paper along with his phone which were placed on his table almost dramatically.

Everything had been so easy before Junhoe had showed up. It had been simple and comforting to trust Yunhyeong. For a short while Donghyuk had been happy.

Now it was all gone and he was full of doubt. He didn’t want to hear that he had been lied to. He didn’t want to know what Junhoe had to say.

But he knew he had to. Like Jiwon had addressed it, not agreeing to hear it would be selfish. It was confirmed that he had been friends with Junhoe at least during some point, after all.

Donghyuk wasn’t sure which one of the several emotions he had was the one making his hands shake – if it wasn’t them all – as he reached over to take his phone. One digit at a time, he slowly typed the number to the call bar. A long while passed before Donghyuk found the courage to press the button to connect.

He brought the phone to his ear, taking a deep breath as he listened to the other end beep once. Twice. Three times. Four times. Five times. Six times.

‘’Hello?’’

The sudden voice made Donghyuk stir and his breath halt in his throat for a short moment, and he struggled to make a sound.

‘’Koo Junhoe?’’ he finally managed to ask.

‘’Yeah… Who’s this? No, wait-‘’ The voice was hoarse, and it sounded like Junhoe had woken up just a few seconds ago. Donghyuk could hear some fumbling. ‘’Donghyuk? Is that you?’’

‘’Yes.’’

‘’Really? Wait, how did you..? Did you-‘’

‘’I met Jiwon,’’ Donghyuk said and an instinct made him take a glance at the door, as if to check that Yunhyeong wasn’t there. Having the man witness him talking to someone would need some good explanation skills. Mrs. Gong had also left a while earlier, much to Donghyuk's fortune.

‘’Thank god,’’ Junhoe exhaled. ‘’Where are you now?’’

‘’I’m at the house.’’

‘’Is Yunhyeong there?’’ The question sounded a bit panicked.

‘’No, I’m alone right now.’’

‘’That’s a relief. Don’t let him know about me, okay? It’s important,’’ Junhoe said and caused Donghyuk furrow his brows.

‘’Why is it important?’’ he asked.

‘’I don’t want you to get in trouble, that’s all,’’ Junhoe told. ‘’He knows that you and I are friends, I am not supposed to know your whereabouts. He could hurt you if he knew. Or take you somewhere else. I don’t want to have you disappear again.’’

‘’What makes you think that he is capable of doing that?’’ Donghyuk took another glance.

‘’He has told you that you’re his step brother, and that you have some goddamn memory disorder. They’re both lies. We’ve been best friends since elementary, and I can guarantee that you’re the only child in your family. Also you’ve never had issues with your head. You always had the best memory among us.’’

‘’Why should I trust your word instead of his?’’

The question was followed by a long silence.

‘’…If Yunhyeong was telling the truth, why would I bother saying this stuff to you?’’

Donghyuk swallowed. ‘’I don’t know. Right now, I have no idea who to believe.’’

‘’Look, Yunhyeong might seem a great guy right now, but it’s all just an act. There’s something he wants from you, I think…’’ Junhoe was interrupted by another voice, which was a little distant and Donghyuk was unable to hear any words. He could catch a silent _‘shut up I’m talking to him right now’_ followed by some more fumbling before Junhoe’s voice was clear again.

‘’The thing is, you started spending time with him around six months ago. He would occupy you almost completely at times. Back then I had no doubts of him, either, but now… I mean, he even helped us search for you at first when you went missing. But apparently he had you all this time, that bastard. I have a good reason to think that he’s dangerous.’’

‘’I… don’t know what to say,’’ Donghyuk was chewing onto his finger and staring blankly at the wall in front of him.

Junhoe sighed. ‘’Okay, I know which house you’re living in. Can you come out some time so we can talk face to face? I mean, when Yunhyeong isn’t around?’’

‘’I… I don’t know… Because of the locks it’s pretty difficult.’’

‘’Locks?’’

‘’Because I could lose my memory and go wandering, the doors can be opened with keys only. I don’t know where the keys are.’’

‘’Donghyuk. You don’t… you don’t find that suspicious at all?’’ Junhoe asked. ‘’That sounds like he’s making sure that you can’t escape.’’

The realization hit Donghyuk like a bucket of ice cold water. It had been such a small detail, yet it was having more purpose than he had understood. He hadn’t even thought about suspecting the new lock system since it was brought into use.

‘’Junhoe, I think I have to hang up now,’’ he said after a short silence. ‘’Can I ask you a favor?’’

‘’Anything.’’

‘’Please don’t contact me first. I will call you again but… don’t call me, okay?’’ Donghyuk asked.

‘’Okay. But make sure you’ll contact me soon. And Donghyuk?’’

‘’Yeah?’’

‘’Thanks. For being alive. We were starting to lose hope.’’

Donghyuk swallowed heavily and detached the phone from his ear, slowly pressing the red button to end the call. Then he landed the phone back onto the table, taking the longest exhale.

A sudden notification sound made him jump a bit, and the screen told him that he received a message.

_‘’Stay safe.’’_

Donghyuk got up from his chair. There was something he needed to check.

The house had three doors. At the front, at the back, and one in the corner which was pretty much in Mrs. Gong’s personal use. Donghyuk walked downstairs to check them all, only to find out that each of the doors were locked and needed a key to be opened. Donghyuk searched through all the drawers he could find, but didn’t see a single key anywhere.

Next he tried one of the kitchen windows, but he couldn’t get it open either. He proceeded to go through every single window in the house, both upstairs and downstairs.

Donghyuk came to realize there was no way for him to get out of there. He was standing in the middle of the living room, looking around and taking shaky breaths. Suddenly it felt like the walls were moving closer to him, the place seemed to grow smaller.

A house he was used to call home suddenly started to feel like a prison.

 


	6. Chapter 6

''So, are you going to tell me what's up?"

Donghyuk blinked as he woke up from his thoughts and slowly looked up at Yunhyeong who was cleaning the table after their dinner. Like promised, the man had brought some black bean noodles with him as he had returned.

"What do you mean?" the younger asked confused.

Yunhyeong looked at him with a raised eyebrow and gave a scoff. "You really think I haven't noticed that there's something on your mind? You've barely said a word the whole evening. And you didn't eat that much, either."

"Oh... I just..." Donghyuk stuttered, trying to figure out anything but ended up just giving a giving a sigh and a shake of his head. "Nothing."

"I thought we agreed not to have any secrets between each other," the other pouted his lips lightly while walking to the counter to throw away the trash.

"It's not that. I think I've just been... a little tired lately," Donghyuk insisted, fiddling his fingers a bit under the table.

"You haven't slept well, then?" Yunhyeong asked and turned to him.

"Yeah... I've seen some weird dreams lately. They're keeping me awake at night," the younger said and his words were not a complete lie.

"Hm, that's not good," Yunhyeong let his gaze drop to his feet. "...Mrs. Gong told me you went somewhere today. Where was that?"

The question made Donghyuk feel an instant rush of blood to his cheeks, and he swallowed heavily while giving his best effort not to seem suspicious in any way. He had been way too overwhelmed by his thoughts and meeting Jiwon that he had forgotten about the housemaid as he had got back to the house. She had been just finishing up with her tasks at the backyard and looked really surprised when Donghyuk had suddenly appeared.

"Am I not allowed to go outside, huh?" Donghyuk asked, making the older frown.

"I never said that. I was just curious of where you went," Yunhyeong replied.

"I took a walk because there was nothing to do inside the house."

"Sounds fair. Had fun?"

"Very. Thanks for the food," the younger man said as he stood, starting to make his way upstairs.

"Dong, before you go," Yunhyeong called and when the other turned, he threw him a pill bottle. Donghyuk caught it and instantly felt something starting to pile up inside him as the stared at the blue pills through the transparent surface.

_'It’s possible that it’s preventing your memory from returning.’_

Biting his teeth together, he looked up from the pill bottle and stared at the wall for a moment before exhaling sharply.

"I don't want it," he said.

Yunhyeong turned at him raising a questioning brow. "Huh?"

"I don't want to take the pills anymore. What's the use, anyway?" The feeling inside him was starting to grow, and he could sense it as a warmness that was rising up his body.

"Donghyuk, what's the matter?" Yunhyeong frowned a bit confused.

"It has been way too long and not a single memory has come back, that's the fucking matter!" Donghyuk exclaimed and his body worked ahead of his mind, and the man suddenly flung the pill bottle at the older.

Yunhyeong managed to dodge it by turning and raising his arm over his head. The bottle opened from the impact with his forearm, however, and the pills spread around the floor and the counter next to the man.

"Why do I have to keep taking this crap when it's not helping me at all? You promised to help me, why can't I still remember a thing, huh?!"

Donghyuk was suddenly feeling furious. Something that had been silently bottling up inside him was all raveling out at once. All the stress from past couple of days had finally won over his senses.

Yunhyeong was just staring, confused but still calm. "Donghyuk, listen. I don't know why-"

"Don't come any closer!" Donghyuk shouted as Yunhyeong made a move to approach him and took a step back. "You're nothing but a fucking liar!"

His hand reached to his side towards a block and soon he was pointing the man with a knife in his shaky hand.

_'He is dangerous.’_

Donghyuk's mind was blur, he was reacting like an animal that felt itself threatened, using the first defense he could think of.

Yunhyeong's face also became fully serious. "Donghyuk, drop it," he said as he took a step closer to him.

"Stay the fuck back!" Donghyuk exclaimed but Yunhyeong didn't listen. He took determined steps towards the younger and before Donghyuk could make a single move, Yunhyeong had grabbed his arm with both of his hands. He expertly forced Donghyuk's arm to the side and soon had him drop the knife from his grip.

"I'm sorry. But you need to calm down right now," the older said as he held him still by wrapping his arms around Donghyuk's body from behind and kicked the knife away from them. The younger was struggling like mad and soon caused both of them to drop on their knees. Yunhyeong didn't loosen his hold, however.

"For the love of god, Donghyuk, calm down!"

Donghyuk was unable to get away. His heart was banging faster than ever, his head was filled with nothing but rage he had been unaware about until now. He was blinded by it.

As his head was the only part of him he could move properly, Donghyuk suddenly started banging it against the edge of a counter next to them with all of his might.

_Remember! Remember! Remember!_

He could distantly hear Yunhyeong yelling at him to stop and he was soon pinned down against the floor. Donghyuk tried to hit his head on the ground instead but quickly had Yunhyeong's hand around it to prevent the younger from hurting himself.

Yunhyeong was strong, his hold on Donghyuk was firm. He laid still against the cold hard ground for a good while before he started coming down from his fury. He panted heavily as his thoughts were slowly getting more and more rational.

When Donghyuk's body had finally stopped resisting and the man relaxed all his muscles under the older, Yunhyeong spoke again.

‘’Are you now done?’’

After listening to Donghyuk’s heavy but stable breathing for a moment, he sat up and carefully pulled the other man with him. Donghyuk let his body lean up against the older's.

"What the hell was that?" Yunhyeong breathed out.

"I'm so scared," the younger replied weakly, closing his eyes as he could feel his head suddenly spin.

"Of what, Donghyuk?"

"I'm so scared of losing my mind."

"You're not going to," Yunhyeong replied. "What is this all about?"

Donghyuk let out a silent whimper as the spinning in his head didn't stop and grew bigger instead.

"I... I want... I want to trust you," he whispered.

"Dong, please open your eyes," the older said, his tone suddenly changing. "Look at me."

Donghyuk opened his eyes slowly, his gaze frantic and he was unable to see properly. It looked like the entire room was moving, the walls and counters reshaping themselves. He turned his head towards the other but couldn't focus his eyes on any certain feature.

"Shit, I think you hit your head pretty badly," Yunhyeong furrowed his brows as Donghyuk squeezed his eyes back shut.

"Are you gonna hurt me, Yunhyeong? They said you're going to..." the younger rambled as he could feel himself being pulled up onto his feet. If it wasn't for Yunhyeong's hold, Donghyuk would've collapsed instantly back down on the floor. He was suddenly feeling powerless and inside his head random colors and noises were messing up his thoughts.

"Let's lay you down," Yunhyeong said calmly and nearly carried the other out of the kitchen to the living room. Soon Donghyuk found himself on his back on the couch and could see Yunhyeong leaning over to look at him worriedly.

"Are you really... what you're claiming to be..?" Donghyuk asked. Yunhyeong's answer was only a distant mumble to him as his thoughts were spinning around uncontrollably. For a moment he couldn't acknowledge anything around him, and the next thing he saw was Yunhyeong standing next to him with a phone on his ear.

"...He's sweating a lot and doesn't respond to anything..."

The lights on the ceiling above him were rotating around and Donghyuk had to close his eyes.

"...Alright. I'll call them."

Inside his head, Donghyuk heard different voices speaking to him at the same time. All the things he had heard that day were echoing inside his head at once. Donghyuk was sure he was about to lose his sanity.

 

Suddenly his eye was forced open and he was pointed with a painfully bright light. An unfamiliar voice was speaking but Donghyuk was unable to catch any words.

He felt his body being lifted from the couch.

Then, Donghyuk was swallowed by darkness.

 

 

 

_A shiny marble floor in different colors of brown. He could hear his steps echoing in the room as he was walking on it. Above his head there was an elegant chandelier that was sparkling from the light of the giant room._

_"It wasn't supposed to end up here."_

_Yunhyeong's voice._

 

 

 

 

_A much darker place. A room? More like a hall. Something was dripping from the ceiling. The air had an unpleasant scent. A door was opened somewhere, a metallic noise echoed from a distance._

_He was hurt and unable to move. He didn't want to be there. It wasn't safe there._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing Donghyuk saw was stripes of sunlight on the wall opposite from him. He blinked slowly trying to get rid of his drowsiness before taking a confused look at his surroundings. Next to the bed he was laying on was a window with closed blinds. Under it he saw a table with a humidifier blowing steam in the air. There was also a drip bottle which was attached somewhere to his arm under a white gown of which Donghyuk had no idea when it was changed on him.

It certainly wasn’t an average type of hospital room. The size of it made Donghyuk understand that he was taken to a VIP space, at least. On the other side from the window and a door further back there were several leather seats.

Yunhyeong was on one of them, dozed off while leaning his head against his palm. Donghyuk stared at the man blankly before he started recalling the things that had happened. He bit hard onto his lower lip and took a silent inhale before he turned his head and looked at the ceiling instead. What the hell had gotten into him?

 

A good while passed with Donghyuk laying on his back and looking up with a blank expression before he could see Yunhyeong flinch from the corner of his eye. The man woke up, but Donghyuk didn’t move his gaze.

‘’Donghyuk?’’

It was only after hearing the other’s sleep influenced voice when he finally turned his head towards Yunhyeong. The man was looking at him worriedly but the sleepiness was evident on his face. Despite everything, Donghyuk found it quite adorable.

‘’How are you feeling?’’ the older asked as he got up to pull himself a seat next to Donghyuk’s bed.

‘’I’m okay…’’ Donghyuk answered silently. ‘’What happened?’’

‘’You… You hit your head a little too hard last night. With your condition it had more effect on you than normal,’’ Yunhyeong told and sighed, running his hand across his face.

‘’You stayed here the whole night?’’

‘’Stupid. Where else should I be?’’ Yunhyeong scoffed. ‘’But how’s your condition? Are you hurt anywhere? Is your head okay?’’

‘’My head is fine,’’ the younger said. ‘’I just feel really numb.’’

‘’Alright. Let me call you a nurse.’’

‘’No, I don’t want a-‘’ Donghyuk attempted to protest but Yunhyeong reached over to press a button next to his bed ignoring the younger’s words. He gave Donghyuk a look and raised an eyebrow.

‘’When it comes to your health, I’m taking no risks,’’ Yunhyeong said and earned a pout from the other.

 

 

"It is very likely that you'll be able to go home by tonight, but we should hear the doctor's opinion first. Just rest for now," the nurse said with a kind smile and soon made her leave.

The room was filled with silence after the door was slid shut. Yunhyeong had moved back onto the leather seats in order to be out of the way, and was looking down at his hands. Donghyuk stared at a wall at the opposite way from the man.

It was ridiculous honestly, to have that tension between them once again. But things had turned much more complicated since their last clash. At least for Donghyuk, after all he wasn't sure anymore whether the man in the room was his step brother or a liar. It terrified him.

Donghyuk was the first of the two to move, however. He turned his head and lifted his body a bit to see the side of his bed.

"What are you doing?" Yunhyeong asked. His voice sounded tired.

"I want to sit up more properly," Donghyuk replied, looking for a certain remote control the nurse had used a few minutes earlier.

Yunhyeong got up and walked over, picking up the remote from somewhere Donghyuk had failed to spot it at. The younger leaned back on the bed as the upper end slowly started to rise.

"It's good now," he mumbled as his position was more comfortable. Yunhyeong reached over to set the remote back to its place when Donghyuk took a deep inhale.

"I'm sorry about last night."

Yunhyeong sighed.

"Dong, I-"

"I'm really sorry. For yelling at you. For throwing that thing at you. For cursing. For... I don't know, acting like a maniac."

"But what on Earth got into you?" Yunhyeong asked. "You scared me so bad."

"Would you believe me if I said that I also have no idea?" Donghyuk looked up at Yunhyeong in the eyes. "Because I really don't know what happened to me."

Yunhyeong slowly sat down on the chair next to the bed. "Alright. I suppose I have to believe you, then," he said and stared at the ground for a moment. "But I'm really worried about you. Lately you've seemed... anxious? I've noticed it, in case you thought you could hide it."

Donghyuk nibbled at his lip again and lowered his head with a sigh.

"You're right. I have indeed been anxious for a while now. Rather than that, I've been really afraid."

"Of what?" Yunhyeong asked confusedly and the two met eyes after Donghyuk lifted his head back up.

_I'm afraid of realizing that you being good to me is just a part of an act. I'm afraid that the people I've spoken with have been telling me the truth all this time. That all the nice moments I've had with you were just a made up scene so that I'd build my trust in you. Because since the beginning, I've grown really fond of you, Yunhyeong. I really don't want to think of you as anyone else than my step brother._

"Donghyuk?" Yunhyeong's voice silenced his inner monologue. He could feel a lump forming in his throat which he bitterly swallowed. No more breakdowns. Not now.

"Nightmares," he finally replied. "Someone hurting me. Losing my sanity. Another memory loss. More than anything, I'm mostly scared of my memories never coming back, and that I'll never grasp the full picture of my identity."

He watched how Yunhyeong hung his head with a heavy exhale. The man closed his eyes and said nothing in a while.

"I'm so sorry that you have to go through something like this," he finally spoke, straightening his posture again. Donghyuk could catch a weird glistening in the other's eyes. "I think I could've prevented this from happening if I had just tried harder."

"What are you talking about?" Donghyuk asked, not quite understanding the words the man had said.

"All of this. That you couldn't remember even your own face. No one deserves that. Especially a genuinely good person like you."

Donghyuk was not sure if he was supposed to feel flattered at that moment, but everything he could feel was confusion.

"Was it all avoidable, then?"

"Well, you know I was supposed to take care of you. But I failed, I really did," Yunhyeong huffed lightly and shook his head with his gaze on his hands.

_It's not your fault. Even though I can't remember, I still know it._

Donghyuk couldn't say it out loud. Because the truth was that he couldn't know.

"You really don't need to apologize for cursing, though," Yunhyeong suddenly stated. "You're a grown man already, for goodness' sake."

A smile managed to rise on Donghyuk's lips. "I suppose. But I don't remember ever doing it before. It was weird."

Yunhyeong smiled too but kept his eyes down. Donghyuk stared at him for a while before opening his mouth.

"Do you remember the night I caught you drinking alone downstairs?"

Yunhyeong finally looked at him. "Some bits. Why?"

"Because that night you said that... I'm very dear for you. What did you mean by that?"

The older frowned slightly before giving a dull, airy chuckle. "What is it supposed to mean? It's how it is. With alcohol in your system you just tend to be more honest about your thoughts."

"Do you think the same about Chanwoo too?" Donghyuk raised an eyebrow curiously as Yunhyeong blinked a few times.

"...Of course. Even though he acts really bratty most of the time, Chanwoo is still a good person deep inside. He's also my brother, after all."

"Why is he so cold, then?"

Yunhyeong shrugged. "It's just his personality. He's had quite a hard past, so he just needs to be understood."

Donghyuk failed his attempt for an eye contact this time and frowned. "What do you mean with hard past?"

"Well..."

They both turned their heads when they heard the door being slid open. Expecting to see a doctor, Donghyuk's eyebrows rose when three men in formal suits stepped in instead. He recognized one of them, however. Mr. Song had the same warm smile on his face as the day Donghyuk had entered his office.

"Father..!" Yunhyeong said with a matching astonishment and nearly stumbled onto his feet.

"Good afternoon. My apologies for showing up uninformed like this, but I wanted to stop by to see if you're alright, Donghyuk," the man said as one of his companions set something looking like a gift bag on one of the tables.

"I also brought a little something for your recovery," Mr. Song added and Donghyuk blinked.

"Oh... Thank you," he said politely and bowed his head. He glanced up at Yunhyeong as if for a backup, not knowing what else to say.

"I heard you hit your head last night. It sounded quite bad. Is your condition now alright?" The man spoke again. Donghyuk tried to look at the CEO in the eyes, but his gaze was strong, maybe a bit too strong, and the boy looked down at his hands instead.

"Yes, I'm okay now. It turned out it was nothing serious," he answered.

"That is great to hear. However, it stayed a bit unclear to me of how it happened. What did you do to get yourself like that?"

Donghyuk exchanged glances with Yunhyeong after the man's question. It seemed that both of them knew that telling about the little lash out didn't sound like a good idea.

"I... I fell," Donghyuk answered silently. He could've been a little more creative with that one, but within those few seconds of thinking he couldn't come up with anything better.

"You fell?" Mr. Song asked and Donghyuk could feel some heat on his cheeks. He had come to realize that being a bad liar was apparently one of his features.

"That's right. He slipped on stairs while not paying enough attention to his steps," Yunhyeong joined in.

"Is that so? Well then, it's fortunate that we were spared from any bigger injuries," the CEO said with not that much emotion in his voice.

"It is," Donghyuk replied silently.

"Anyhow, I have asked the hospital staff to treat you as their main priority in case you need anything. They will take good care of you until you will be discarded."

_That's kind of much, considering that my condition is not so bad meanwhile someone could be dying in this building at this very moment._

"Thank you," Donghyuk nodded his head while eyeing the patterns on his gown.

Mr. Song then cleared his throat. "As I am on my way to a meeting, my visit is going to stay brief like this. Yunhyeong, could you step outside with me? I need to have a word with you."

Donghyuk eyes shot up as the men turned towards the door, and he looked at Yunhyeong as he made a move to follow them.

"I'll be right back," the older said to him silently and Donghyuk followed him with his gaze, up until the man slid the door shut as he went.

Donghyuk didn't consider or hesitate his actions for a second before he was already standing up. Gripping the metallic holder of his drip bottle, the man silently made his way to the door and opened it slowly.

He knew something was off. There was something about Mr. Song and his sudden presence that made Donghyuk raise his guard. The feeling had been there at the CEO’s office, but this time it had been much stronger. Donghyuk wanted to find out what it was all about.

The hallway was wide and bright, but also empty. Donghyuk could hear a distant voice speaking further away behind a corner.

‘’Why is this going much more complicated than it should?’’ he heard Mr. Song say lowly as he had made his way closer to the sound.

‘’It is not complicated. This was just small setback,’’ Yunhyeong’s voice replied.

‘’A small setback you say?’’

There was a brief silence, and Donghyuk leaned against the wall lightly.

‘’How many of these _small_   _setbacks_ will there be before everything gets ruined?’’ Mr. Song asked.

‘’None. I will make sure of it.’’

As another silence landed Donghyuk took the courage to lean forward to peek behind the corner. He could see Yunhyeong’s back towards him in a distance as the man stood in front of his father and his two companions. Mr. Song was scratching his forehead and the man gave a deep sigh.

And suddenly, without a warning, the CEO straightened his posture and swung out his arm, hitting hard on Yunhyeong’s cheek. Donghyuk flinched and hid back behind the corner, eyes wide and heart thumbing in shock.

‘’You definitely will make sure of that,’’ the man said with a threatening tone. ‘’You bastard have no idea how much trouble I am going through because of this. The investors found out! Be sure that the brat stays still from now on and stop wasting my time!’’

 

By the time Yunhyeong returned to the room, Donghyuk had just finished adjusting the bed and was laying down with his back towards the entrance.

‘’All good?’’ The older asked.

‘’Yeah. I just wanna sleep for a bit,’’ Donghyuk replied silently and threw the covers over himself.

‘’Sure,’’ Yunhyeong said and moved to close the blinds.

All Donghyuk could think about was how much he hoped that the covers were hiding the fact that his body had started trembling uncontrollably.

 

 

 

‘’Come. There’s dinner downstairs.’’

‘’I’m not hungry,’’ Donghyuk said while laying on his bed in his room. He had been staring at the wall in front of him long enough to know the patterns of it by heart already. He had stayed there ever since they had returned to the house that following evening.

‘’Stop lying. You haven’t eaten since last night,’’ Yunhyeong said from the door.

‘’I’m not lying. I really don’t want to eat.’’

‘’What’s the matter?’’ he older asked and Donghyuk heard him approach the bed.

‘’I’m tired.’’

‘’Donghyuk…’’ Yunhyeong sighed heavily. ‘’Just talk to me.’’

‘’…Do I have to keep taking those pills?’’ Donghyuk asked without moving from his spot.

‘’Well, you should,’’ Yunhyeong replied and sat down at the foot of the bed. ‘’But it’s not like I can force them down your throat, either. It’s your call, but you have to understand the dangers of quitting them.’’

‘’Then I don’t want them anymore.’’

‘’Why are you making such a big deal out of those pills all of a sudden?’’

Donghyuk stayed quiet for a while. ‘’They’re not helping me, that’s why.’’

Yunhyeong didn't say anything. Donghyuk could feel the man's weight leaving the bed.

"Just come downstairs when you want to eat."

With that, Yunhyeong left the room. Donghyuk gave a light huff and curled up on the mattress. It wasn't like constant sulking was taking things anywhere, but he had no idea what else to do.

He was scared.

What happened in the hospital had left him with so many questions. Questions that he would never find a courage for to ask.

Donghyuk wanted to talk to Junhoe again. His phone was resting on the beside table, untouched since the latest phone call. But he couldn't contact the man. Not when Yunhyeong was around.

 

Donghyuk thought about the things he had seen after passing out. It had felt like a dream of a sort. But it was still too realistic. Like a memory.

Even though the images were like looking at a cracked mirror, Donghyuk was sure that it had happened not too long ago. Yunhyeong had mentioned the Song family mansion before. Donghyuk had been in that place once. Maybe he remembered a bit of being there.

_What about the other place?_

Donghyuk frowned. He had no idea what he was doing inside that hall or how he had got there. It had felt so distressing, though. If it really was a memory of his past, it definitely wasn't a pleasant one.

 

Evening turned into a night, night turned into a morning. Each second felt like a minute as Donghyuk kept laying wide awake. He wasn't able to relax, therefore unable to sleep.

 

It was a few hours after sunrise when the door was opened. He didn't move as he heard someone approaching the bed and shut his eyes when a weight landed softly next to him on the mattress. A small sigh confirmed that the person was Yunhyeong.

Donghyuk nearly flinched when he suddenly felt a hand on him. On his head, where it gently caressed his hair. He kept his eyes shut pretending to sleep as Yunhyeong stroked him slowly, softly, caringly. Donghyuk's hand squeezed on the comforter however, and he hoped that the older wouldn't notice.

The hand left the side of his head soon, but the man didn't get up from his spot. A noticeably long time passed without a single sound being heard in the room, yet Donghyuk was sure that Yunhyeong was still right next to him.

Finally, he felt the man's hand squeezing his arm and giving it a gentle shake.

"Dong. Are you feeling alright?"

The younger slowly opened his eyes. "Yeah, why?" he asked and he didn't need to fake the tiredness in his voice.

"You didn't eat."

Donghyuk slowly turned from his position to look at the other. "I... could do that now."

"You could?" Yunhyeong raised his brows. The underside of his eyes looked a little darker from usual. It seemed that the older hadn't slept well, either.

"Yeah... But could I do that here? I feel kinda numb to go downstairs."

_Mr. Song wants this brat to stay still anyway, right?_

Yunhyeong gave a weak smile and nodded. "Sure. I'll bring you some breakfast here."

The older got up and started to make his way out of the room, but halted midway.

"Donghyuk... Can I ask you something?"

"Sure?"

"Who are _they_?" Yunhyeong asked and turned towards him as Donghyuk gave a confused frown. "After hitting your head, you were talking about _them_. Some people that had told you things about me."

_Oh._

_Oh!_

Donghyuk swallowed before opening his mouth to reply. "That... I- uhh..."

Yunhyeong looked at him as he waited for the other to carry on. But not sternly in any way. His eyes were rather worried.

"I told you I've been having nightmares, right?" The younger finally said. "I've seen some people in my dreams, that's all. And in that state, well... I was just blurting out things."

Donghyuk watched as Yunhyeong lowered his gaze before nodding.

"Okay. I'll go get the food."

The older left the room, leaving the other sitting up on his bed and biting his lip. There had been something in Yunhyeong's tone. Something new which Donghyuk couldn't put a name on.

 

Even though Donghyuk was feeling completely fine - excluding the tiredness from staying awake all night - he didn't find the power to get out of bed until late in the noon.

Yunhyeong hadn't stayed with him for his breakfast, and the younger hadn't heard from him since the morning.

He however found Yunhyeong in the kitchen, standing by the window. Taking a glance at one of the counters, Donghyuk noticed that the knife block was nowhere to be seen. He gave a small, ashamed pout.

"Yunhyeong?" he asked carefully.

The said man turned sharply, as if gotten scared, but his expression softened quickly.

"Oh, look who's finally up."

"Yeah..." Donghyuk shifted his weight. "Why are you just standing around here?"

The older shrugged. "Nothing, I was just thinking about... stuff."

"You okay?" The other frowned. The way Yunhyeong had brought his hand to scratch his neck seemed... stressed out?

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?" Yunhyeong gave a chuckle and grabbed a water glass from the table next to him. After taking a few steps from the window, the glass suddenly dropped from his grip and hit the floor, breaking into pieces.

"Shit!" Yunhyeong cursed as Donghyuk stared at him wide eyed. Okay, the man was clearly stressed out about something.

"Oh, look at what you did..." Donghyuk pouted worriedly as he took a step forward to clean up the mess.

"No!" Yunhyeong exclaimed, holding out his hand in a stopping manner. "Don't come close, it's dangerous. You could cut yourself."

The older then crouched down to pick up some of the pieces of the broken glass, and despite the other's words, Donghyuk carefully walked over to help.

"Yunhyeong, what's wrong? You're acting like a deer in the headlights."

The older gave a sigh. "Nothing's wrong. Just... let me do this, please. I don't want you to get hurt."

Frowning, Donghyuk gave in and just watched as the man picked up the pieces and got up to throw them away.

"Why is it that whenever I have something on my mind I have to tell you instantly, but you won't open your mouth when there's clearly something bothering you?"

Yunhyeong huffed silently while gripping the side of the counter. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm acting weird but... you know, lot of stuff is going on and I didn't sleep too well. I think I just need some rest."

Donghyuk didn't believe a single word.

"Okay. If you say so," he answered.

"Donghyuk..." Yunhyeong said after a brief silence, keeping his eyes on the surface of the counter. "What does _stay safe_ mean?"

"H-huh..?" Donghyuk blinked as he tried to figure whether he had heard the man's question correctly. At least he hoped he hadn't.

"I happened to see the message you received from someone."

Donghyuk could feel blood leaving his fingertips.

"Who was that from?"

By chance... when Yunhyeong had been sitting on his bed that morning when Donghyuk had pretended to be asleep... Right next to the night stand.

"I- I... I'm..." he stuttered out.

Just then, the worst thing Donghyuk could imagine happening at that exact moment, out of any possible moments in the history of time, happened. His phone started to buzz inside his pocket.

Why had he taken that damn device with him downstairs anyway, Donghyuk didn't even know. But it was there, receiving a call from a person he already knew the name of without having to look at the screen.

He hadn't saved Junhoe's number, if he were to name one fortunate part in the situation. However, Yunhyeong was watching him tightly as the younger slowly and expressionlessly picked the device from his pocket and slid his finger over the green button on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Is my timing bad?" Junhoe's voice asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir, but it seems that you have a wrong number," Donghyuk said calmly and saw the older narrowing his eyes as he leaned back from the counters.

"Is Yunhyeong there..?"

"Yes. You have a nice day too."

"Shit, just call me as soon as you can."

Donghyuk swallowed and ended the call, taking a careful look at the other man in the room.

"...I think that was the same person that sent me the text," he said. "He sounded kinda old."

Yunhyeong stared at him for a few oppressive seconds before his expression softened.

"Oh. Seems logical," he said with a nod. "At least he got that finally sorted out."

"Yeah..." Donghyuk replied and took a breath he didn't realize he had been holding.

"Anyway, I still wish you to get out from the kitchen. There's still glass all over the place."

Donghyuk blinked in confusion. "Oh... you don't need any help?"

"I'm good. Just save yourself."

"Okay..." Donghyuk bit his lip and turned to leave the room. He really wanted to get himself away from there. His heart was thudding harder than ever and his legs felt weak from the short fright earlier. As soon as he had got up the stairs and walked into his room, he shut the door and leaned his back against it.

Had Yunhyeong really believed him? He was really all good now?

_Next time I see Koo Junhoe, I swear I'll kick him ten times harder than I did last time._

 

It was around an hour later when Donghyuk heard Yunhyeong's voice from right outside the room.

"Dong, is it okay if I leave you by yourself for the rest of the evening? I just got a call and need to be somewhere tonight."

"Yeah, it's alright! Just go," Donghyuk answered loud enough for the older to hear. He was sitting by the window and following how the sun had slowly started setting. The man got up right after hearing footsteps going down the stairs.

Donghyuk stood closely by the door and listened to the sounds coming from downstairs. He could hear Yunhyeong moving around for a while before the front door was opened and closed soon after. Donghyuk listened to the silence for a few minutes until he was convinced that the house was now empty.

Walking further into the room he frantically fished his phone out of his pocket and soon brought it to his ear.

"I told you not to call me!" he hissed as soon as the other end picked up.

"Look, I'm sorry, but how else could I have made sure you're still okay?" Junhoe's voice defended. "I haven't heard from you for days."

"Nothing's going to happen to me in just a couple of days," Donghyuk huffed.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Junhoe replied.

He gave a deep sigh and leaned his head back before the other spoke again.

"But are you good? Did Yunhyeong get suspicious?"

"I don't know, I don't think so. But..." Donghyuk started and bit his lower lip in thought.

"But?" Junhoe questioned after the silence in Donghyuk's end grew longer.

"Ever since the beginning... I mean, since the memory loss, something has been off. I couldn't name it before but... I think it's all a lie. Everything I've been told. I believe you now."

"You do?" Junhoe asked with an audible surprise in his voice. "That's good! All this time I've just wanted to get you s-"

"And I think I figured something out," Donghyuk continued. "It's not Yunhyeong."

"Huh?"

Donghyuk thought back at the events that had occurred after he was brought to the house for the first time. The conversation between Yunhyeong and Chanwoo he had overheard. Yunhyeong's drunken narrative. The odd tension in Mr. Song's office. What he had heard in the hospital.

"I mean, he definitely holds a role in all of this. But Yunhyeong is not behind it."

"Then who is?"

"His father is Song Taehoon, the owner of STH Pharma. I've met him and he's in it as well. It seems he wants something from me."

His words were followed by a long silence and soon Donghyuk started to suspect that the connection had been cut off.

"Hello?"

"Donghyuk..." Junhoe finally breathed out. "If what you just said is true... you're in much bigger danger than I first thought."

"Wha-"

"L-listen Donghyuk. You need to get out of there right now," the man's words were followed by a sound of fumbling, as if Junhoe was suddenly on a move. "I'll explain everything later, but now just get away from that place, okay? _Jiwon get up we need to go, now!"_ The last words came out more silent as Junhoe wasn't talking directly to his phone. The man's tone caused Donghyuk's heart to beat faster. It was dead serious and somewhat frightened. It reminded him of the night the two had their first encounter in front of the convenience store.

"I told you... I can't get out of the house by myself," Donghyuk shook his head with a confused frown.

"You have to, okay? Break a window if you need to, just get out of th- _fuck_!" Junhoe cursed at himself, and Donghyuk could hear distant humming at the background. It sounded like Junhoe had got outside from somewhere.

The man's suggestion made Donghyuk lift his gaze onto the window of his room. He managed to take a glance at his chair by the table before all of his thoughts halted when his eyes finally caught the reflection on the glass. Everything in him seemed to halt as well as his breath suddenly got stuck in his throat.

Taking a shaky inhale, Donghyuk slowly turned around to see Yunhyeong standing in the room next to the open door, looking at him with expressionless eyes.

 _"We're coming there right now and if you're not out by then, I swear I will break in,"_ Junhoe's voice said on the phone which Donghyuk slowly detached from his ear.

"What the hell are you doing right now?" Yunhyeong asked.

Donghyuk could only stare at the other, his mind getting blank as he understood that this was nothing he could get away with by using another white lie. Yunhyeong had already heard too much, he was sure of it.

_"Donghyuk? Are you still there?"_

"Why?" Yunhyeong's eyebrows rose as Donghyuk failed to bring himself to answer. The man’s eyes were strong and it felt like his gaze was holding Donghyuk in place, as if it had the power to turn him into a stone.

_"...Is someone there with you?"_

Donghyuk swallowed, his breaths being deep and shaky when he brought the phone closer to his mouth.

"Y-yes."

Yunhyeong narrowed his eyes and took a step closer to him which made Donghyuk step back in response.

"Who are you talking with?"

Donghyuk could hear Junhoe saying something on the phone that he lowered in his grip, his eyes still locked with Yunhyeong's. He took more steps backwards when the older made another move to approach him.

"Why are you so scared?" Yunhyeong's voice was low yet calm and his face didn't give any hints of his emotions.

"Y-Yunhyeong..." Donghyuk finally managed to speak. He could hear his own heartbeat thumbing rapidly in his ears.

"Yes?" the other male asked with a small tilt of his head.

"Who are you?"


	7. Chapter 7

_"Who are you?"_

 

_"It's me, Yunhyeong. Your step brother."_

 

The memory of the man's soft gaze and the comforting tone of his voice flashed through Donghyuk's head as he stared at the older. There was none of that Yunhyeong left now as the question was asked again. There was no comfort in the man's expression, only a pair of cold eyes looking back at him.

"What do you mean?" Yunhyeong finally spoke, raising his eyebrows only lightly. "You know me."

"Do I really?" Donghyuk breathed out. "Are you really what you've claimed all this time? You... you're not my step brother, right?"

"Who's been talking to you?" Yunhyeong asked and the younger could see his expression darkening.

"You answer me first!" Donghyuk exclaimed, squeezing the phone in his hand that was hanging at his side. He wasn't sure if Junhoe was still at the other end hearing everything.

The two stared at each other tightly in a brief silence before Yunhyeong gave an exhale.

 

"That's right. I'm not your step brother. That's what you wanted to hear, right?" he said. "Even though it seems that you already know that very well without the confirmation."

 

Donghyuk could feel something inside of him leave. His heart suddenly felt empty and the younger had to gasp a little to have his breathing work again. Hearing that come out of Yunhyeong's own mouth was much worse than he could've thought. It was like the floor under him had collapsed and he was falling into a bottomless pit, even though the man was still standing on his own two feet.

"Now, you tell me who has been telling you these things," Yunhyeong said lowly and Donghyuk swallowed lightly.

"Does it even matter?" he asked with a shaky voice.

"Give me the phone," the older demanded coldly and took a step closer to him to which Donghyuk responded by backing away once again. He shook his head before feeling a drop on his cheek. His eyes had started tearing up, but he let them. His body could react to everything all it wanted, but Donghyuk still had to keep his head cold. He was standing in a room together with a man who could be anyone, who could possibly even hurt him. He couldn't have a breakdown now.

Yunhyeong narrowed his eyes before repeating, "Donghyuk, give me the phone."

"N-no..." Donghyuk said, biting his teeth together.

"Fine," the other said and took quick steps towards him at the drop of a hat to take the device himself.

Donghyuk didn't spare a second to calculate before he took a step back and threw his phone towards a wall as hard as he could. He didn't want to get Junhoe in trouble because of him. There was too much at stake.

Yunhyeong grabbed his wrist right when the device collided with the wall with a loud wham, and the two were back at staring at each other with only a few inches separating them.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Yunhyeong exclaimed angrily and Donghyuk made his next move by bowing down to grab the man by the waist, pushing him backwards forcefully. Yunhyeong's back smashed into the opposite wall with a low grunt. A framed decorative picture dropped from its place and came crashing down next to the two.

Donghyuk couldn't think any further before he was being the one taking a hit as Yunhyeong's brought his knee up to kick him on the stomach. The older grabbed him by the shoulder and soon a sharp pain at the side of Donghyuk's face clouded his senses. He fell down on the floor, bringing his hand on top of the spot that had just taken a punch.

Breathing heavily, he slowly turned to look up at Yunhyeong who was staring at him before moving his eyes onto his fist he had just used to hit the younger with.

Then Donghyuk could see the change in the man's eyes. He saw a character peeling off, and when Yunhyeong looked at him again, there was worry. There was that certain care that made him know that the real Yunhyeong was back.

Tears started flooding down Donghyuk's face more heavily. "Why am I here? Why did I lose my memory?" he asked weakly.

"I..." Yunhyeong blinked his eyes repeatedly.

"Please..." Donghyuk sobbed, "Please tell me why this is happening."

The older looked at him and took a step back. He shook his head, "Donghyuk, I... I can't."

"Please!" Donghyuk cried out desperately. "I know you don't want this. It's your father that started this. I... I know all of it. I heard what he said to you yesterday. Please help me, Yunhyeong. Why did he do this to me?" He straightened from his place slightly, still not getting back onto his feet.

Yunhyeong backed away even more. His eyes looked hasty and the man was yet to put down his hand that was still squeezed into fist.

"I'm sorry," he shook his head again. "I really am. I was supposed to take care of you..."

"And you did," Donghyuk attempted to have Yunhyeong look at him in the eyes. He succeeded. "Help me once more. Just... I just want to know why."

He looked how Yunhyeong finally relaxed his hand and his eyes became more focused.

"I told you already. I can't."

"Yunhyeong..."

"This is no longer in my hands. I'm so sorry," the man backed away a little more and Donghyuk watched how he picked up his phone from his pocket.

"Please..." he breathed out as the other brought the device to his ear. A new wave of fright flushed over him. Who was he calling? What was going to happen next?

Breathing shakily Donghyuk stood up, ignoring the aching pain on his face and abdomen.

"Come to the house, quickly. And bring some backup. Something happened."

Donghyuk squeezed his hands into fists as Yunhyeong listened to the other end and inhaled before speaking again.

"He found out."

Once again, it took the younger not even a moment to think before taking action and in the following second Donghyuk was running towards the other man. Yunhyeong had no time to react before the man's body collided with his, Donghyuk's weight pushing him backwards. As Yunhyeong was on the edge of losing his balance, the younger took to opportunity to give him another forceful push with his shoulder, managing to shove the man out of the room. Next, he grabbed the door to shove it closed but Yunhyeong was quick to throw himself against it to push it to the opposite direction.

Both men were leaning against the wooden door, using all their might win over one another, faces crunched up with effort. Donghyuk was aware that Yunhyeong was physically stronger than him and would defeat him at any second. However, there was something in Donghyuk - maybe desperation, a will to survive, or the fright - that gave him a push from somewhere deep inside his being, and the younger was able to slam the door shut. He quickly switched the lock and backed away as the man on the other side was still aggressively trying to get in.

_‘’Donghyuk, open the door!’’_

‘’I trusted you, Yunhyeong!’’ He shouted. ‘’I really did…’’

And with that, it suddenly became quiet. The banging on the door and fumbling on the knob stopped at once. Donghyuk took deep breaths and stood still as he anticipated an answer, or for something to happen next.

_Thud._

He flinched, eyes wide and teary.

_Another thud._

_‘’Open the door right now!’’_

He backed away even more as Yunhyeong kicked the door again. Looking around the room, Donghyuk realized he had done nothing except for trapping himself in. Someone was coming to the house, and not just one person. They would be able to get the door open easily, and they would take him away—

Donghyuk hurriedly rushed to where he had thrown his phone earlier, franticly searching for it before finding it screen-down next to his night stand. As he picked it up, he saw the device being cracked entirely. Donghyuk tried to turn it on, but the screen only flashed random colors and stripes all over. The phone was utterly ruined.

‘’No…’’

A panic was slowly rising again inside him as Donghyuk realized that with Junhoe being unreachable, he was alone. There was no one to save him.

 

Except for himself.

 

Another wham was heard at the door when Donghyuk straightened up and took a deep breath. He had to get out of there. And with the door being out of the game, there was only one option. Feeling a sudden wave of determination flushing over his senses the man walked over to the end of the room, grabbing the back of his chair in front of the study desk.

 

Yunhyeong’s struggles with the door stopped instantly when a loud shattering noise filled the place. Donghyuk climbed up on the windowsill, hearing the footsteps leaving from behind the door. It had taken four swings in total, three before the glass was covered with deep cracks and broke completely with the fourth hit.

He looked down at the grass under the window. The fall was high but not necessarily high enough to injure him. When the hurried footsteps made it to the staircase, Donghyuk knew that the risk had to be taken without any further thinking.

He jumped.

 

A sharp pain on his ankle made Donghyuk groan out loud. He fell from his feet onto his side to the ground gasping for air. Some of the pieces of glass on the grass made small scratches on the skin of his forearm but he barely noticed. Lifting the upper half of his body, through the window he saw Yunhyeong rushing towards the back door. He knew had to get up right then.

The locks on the door that had been his enemy turned out to be an advantage for him for once, as during those two seconds Yunhyeong spent for using the key Donghyuk was able to get up. The ache on his ankle was still lingering but he was able to stand on his own. So he ran.

Instead of heading to the front of the house he went forward towards the end of the backyard to the brick wall that was surrounding the property. He could hear the back door opening only after a few steps and Donghyuk gave his best effort to pick up his pace.

The brick wall wasn’t very high – probably put there only for the nice look of it – but Donghyuk still struggled a bit getting himself over it. Just when his feet landed on the other side of the wall, he felt Yunhyeong grabbing onto his wrist forcefully. Without sparing a single look at the older Donghyuk gave a powerful wrench of his body which made Yunhyeong lose his grasp and he was back to running.

 

There were no buildings behind the row of houses, just an open grassy field followed by a forest further away. A thought of running to a neighboring house for help had crossed Donghyuk’s mind, but would that really get him anywhere? He couldn’t stop thinking about how Yunhyeong had called someone for backup, and he rather wanted to escape for good, not giving them – whoever _they_ were – any chance to catch him.

Donghyuk knew by experience that he was indeed faster than Yunhyeong when it came to running. However, he was in a lot of disadvantages with his still hurting ankle and a sudden sharp pain on his rib. Yunhyeong was also wearing shoes, Donghyuk wasn’t. He knew that the older was right behind him even though he couldn’t hear the other’s steps or possible shouts. In fact, he couldn’t hear anything else other than the sound of his own breath and heartbeat as if his body had shut out everything around him to give him full focus on saving himself. And survival was everything Donghyuk could think about.

_Keep running. Don’t stop. Don’t look back.Keep running._

Donghyuk continued to order himself with an endless mantra inside his head, thinking about nothing else when he passed by the first trees. The forest was neat, the trees having an even distance between each other like they were purposely planted to their spots. It meant that there were no places for Donghyuk to hide. The sun had just set and it was dim, just light enough for him to see in front of himself not to run into anything.

It didn’t take long before his mind became completely blur, the sense of time and distance being nonexistent. He only continued to run deeper and further without sparing a glance back to see if Yunhyeong was still behind him. Small rocks and branches on the ground stung his bare soles but his senses didn’t allow him to bother.

He was brought back to when the two had been sprinting on the sunny pathway together. How Donghyuk was always a step or two ahead and how Yunhyeong would blame everything possible for his losing. How they would rest together at the square at the end of the path and have nice, relaxing conversations.

And now, something that used to be a playful game for them had turned into a race of life and death.

 

He didn’t stop until he wholly _had to_ when it felt like Donghyuk’s lungs would explode and he was tasting blood at the back of his throat. He stumbled forward a bit more before extending out his arm and leaning against a tree, bending over and gasping for breath. His blood veins were on fire and if it wasn’t for the adrenaline taking over his body, he might’ve as well fainted on the spot.

Despite the painful exhaustion Donghyuk took a sharp turn around to see if Yunhyeong was catching up on him. But behind him, there was no one. He looked around at every direction as if anticipating for the man to jump out from somewhere at any second.

But he didn’t.

After a moment of continuous head turning, Donghyuk leaned his back against the tree focusing on his breathing in order to make it somehow even. Subtly, he started hearing the sound of crickets around him. It was the only sound beside his own heavy breaths. The moon had risen a bit, granting him more light to see.

He knew that it wasn’t the moment for him to take in a sigh of relief. Not even close, even if he had managed to get Yunhyeong off his tracks. He was still alone with some people possibly out there looking for him. He wasn’t safe yet.

Donghyuk also came to realize that he had no longer any idea of his own whereabouts. How deep in the forest he had got himself? Was he even going to be able to get ou-

_No. Don’t freak yourself out. You’re going to find a way to get away from here, Kim Donghyuk._

He closed his eyes after giving himself another order in his head. His breathing was yet to calm down, but he could already control it better. It was enough for him to continue forward.

The pain on his ankle suddenly seemed much bigger and Donghyuk was nearly limping as he walked. Also, the ache on his rib was now stronger and he concluded it as a cramp. But he couldn’t let it slow him down. All he wanted was to find civilization of any sort and to get somewhere, _anywhere,_ where he could feel at least a bit safe. For his comfort, the forest remained as clean the further he went which meant it was most likely being taken care of. There would be something else soon, he assured himself.

 

And soon enough, in a distance between the rows of trees he saw a yellowish light. After approaching it a bit more he saw a street. Finally Donghyuk allowed himself to feel a sort of respite to calm down his still frantic thoughts. It might turn out okay after all.

When Donghyuk was close enough for the light to reach him, he leaned against a tree to take a breath again. He groaned in discomfort at the sting on his side and brought his hand down to touch it.

When he felt something hard and sharp against his fingers, Donghyuk realized that it wasn’t a cramp.

Looking down at his body Donghyuk saw a wide spot of blood on the fabric of his grey t-shirt. In the middle of it there was a fairly big piece of glass sticking out at his side.

Donghyuk gasped lightly as he brought his still shaky hands to it, grabbing onto the piece carefully and slowly attempting to pull it out. He whimpered silently from the pain as the glass moved, and after a couple of few inches it came away of his flesh. The blood spot grew gradually as he dropped the piece to the ground, looking at his red fingers expressionlessly.

He looked at the street behind only a few rows of trees before beginning to walk towards it again. As the forest finally ended, there was another small spot of grass before he was standing on hard concrete. The street wasn’t a busy one and Donghyuk couldn’t see anyone else there.

 

The situation brought him back to that night when everything had started. He was by himself, with nowhere to go and no idea what to do.

He felt so incredibly alone.

Even though his head was screaming at him to keep his cool for now, Donghyuk felt his eyes watering once again. He took a shaky inhale and swallowed hard, sniffling a few times when a lonely tear fell down his cheek. Then he exhaled slow and deep while closing his eyes.

_That’s enough for now. There will be time for this later._

Donghyuk straightened his posture to look around. On the other side of the road next to him were old looking buildings with some dark side alleys. The place he was standing in suddenly felt too open. He was visible to anyone there which made him lift his guard and cross the road.

Still without a clue of what to do next, Donghyuk limped to one of the alleys just for the sake of being somehow hidden. He didn’t manage to walk further than a few steps before stopping again.

 

‘’Are you okay?’’

Donghyuk turned around to see a woman behind him. She was a bit shorter but likely older than him, with a short hair and round glasses. She brought down her headset hanging it around her neck and even though she tried, the woman was unable to hide the surprise as Donghyuk turned fully, revealing his injured and exhausted form.

‘’I-I’m sorry…’’ Donghyuk began, his voice surprisingly weak. ‘’But could I borrow a phone..? I need to call a friend.’’

The woman blinked a few times. ‘’Phone? Oh- oh! A phone, of course.’’ She reached for her pocket, taking her phone in her hand but halted. ‘’But you seem really hurt. Maybe I should call you some help first?’’ she suggested and something in her, maybe the worry in her eyes or the simple care that had made her stop for him, brought the lump back to Donghyuk’s throat.

‘’It’s okay. It’s just… My friend is really worried,’’ he swallowed, meaning to say something more but in the end, didn’t continue.

‘’Are you sure? An ambulance could get here fast…’’

‘’Please… No ambulance.’’ Donghyuk shook his head.

‘’Okay. Okay,’’ the woman nodded with a small sympathetic smile before handing the device for him. Donghyuk had to use both of his hands when he took it since his body was still trembling rapidly.

After receiving Junhoe’s number from Jiwon he had gazed through it tens of times while trying to find the courage to give the man the first call. And he had ended up remembering it by heart.

He struggled a bit typing in the number, but the woman didn’t show a single sign of impatience. Soon enough he brought the phone to his ear hearing the other end beep only once before it picked up.

‘’Hello?’’ Junhoe’s voice was different. It was as serious as earlier that night but now it was also desperate.

‘’It’s me,’’ Donghyuk said silently.

‘’Donghyuk? It’s you? Holy fuck, where are you? What happened? We just passed by the house but there were so many people there-‘’

‘’I am not there anymore,’’ he said, being careful with the words he used as the woman was still right in front of him.

‘’Where are you then? Are you alright?’’

‘’I am…’’ Donghyuk began before frowning and hastily looking around. ‘’I’m not sure… what this place is.’’

She suddenly reached forward carefully and when Donghyuk realized her intentions from her expression, he shakily handed the phone to her.

‘’Yes hello,’’ she began talking to Junhoe, telling him a location Donghyuk had never heard before. ‘’But this friend here is badly injured, but he refused to get any help. What sho-‘’

The woman stopped mid-sentence to listen to the other end, biting her lip in thought.

‘’How long?’’ she asked with a small frown. ‘’…Alright. He will wait for you here.’’

The phone call ended and the woman casted her eyes on him again. ‘’Your friend is gonna be here soon. And then he’ll get you some help, okay?’’

Donghyuk nodded slowly while looking down at the ground. ‘’Okay. Thank you…’’

He was so close to crying he had to muster all that was left of his willpower so that we wouldn’t turn into a sobbing mess. He was so exhausted and scared, yet somehow felt a huge comfort flushing over him. He couldn’t believe how lucky he was, that the woman had shown compassion towards him just when Donghyuk had felt that he was the only one against the whole world. After _his_ world had just collapsed entirely.

‘’I think you should sit down,’’ the woman said softly, gently guiding him to small steps in front of a building with covered windows. She sat down next to him.

‘’I am going to stay here with you until your friend shows up, okay?’’ she smiled. ‘’What’s your name?’’

‘’…Donghyuk,’’ he replied silently and wrapped his arms around his bent knees, eyes still down on the ground in front of him.

‘’I am Heejin,’’ she said. ‘’Kim Heejin.’’

‘’Me too. Kim.’’

‘’Nice to meet you, Kim Donghyuk,’’ Heejin nodded. ‘’Are you in lot of pain?’’

‘’A little bit… It’s bearable,’’ Donghyuk mumbled.

‘’Are you still bleeding?’’

‘’I’m not sure.’’

‘’What happened? Were you attacked by someone?’’

Donghyuk could feel a small sting on his chest before he shook his head slowly. ‘’I was in an accident.’’

‘’I see. You’re going to be alright, Donghyuk. Your friend said he will be here shortly,’’ Heejin said with an empathetic voice.

Donghyuk just pressed his head down. Even though Junhoe was now on his way to get him, he was still anxious. Someone could show up there before him. Even though they were in the small safety granted by the alley he could still be taken away by people he didn’t want to meet.

‘’Do you like music?’’ Heejin’s question made him slowly lift his head to look at her.

‘’Let’s listen some together while waiting, shall we?’’ She smiled again and took her phone, opening a music application. ‘’This is a track I’ve been liking a lot recently.’’

A song started playing, a ballad sung by a male singer with an appealing voice. Heejin set the phone down between them on the step and the two landed in a comfortable silence. It was like she could sense his exhaustion which was now so strong that even talking swallowed up a lot of energy.

As the track went on and eventually changed to another, Donghyuk could feel his eyelids drooping. He knew he was in no place to give himself a rest, though. He still had to stay woke and alarmed. However, as the music and Heejin’s presence calmed down him and his trembling body, he started struggling on staying conscious.

 

It wasn’t until the music suddenly stopped when he raised his head again. Heejin had pressed the pause button and was gazing towards the road.

‘’I think someone’s there. Wait here,’’ she said before getting up and walking out of the alley. She stopped to look somewhere at the road, waving her hand above her head. Donghyuk saw how her figure was lighted by a car’s headlights.

‘’Are you Donghyuk’s friend?’’ the woman asked someone, but the reply was only a silent mumble to Donghyuk. He tensed his shoulders with his eyes fixed tightly towards the road, a small silent gasp passing his lips when a man stepped to his view.

 

Junhoe stopped at the end of the alley as their eyes met. He blinked his eyes a few times, swallowing before approaching Donghyuk and squatted down in front of him. ‘’Donghyuk…’’

He opened his mouth to speak but suddenly making a sound seemed much harder than ever. Junhoe waited patiently, however, his eyes gazing over his features.

‘’I broke the window,’’ Donghyuk finally managed to whisper.

Junhoe breathed out a short sigh. ‘’You did well. You’re going to be safe now.’’

Donghyuk gazed into the man’s eyes miserably. ‘’P-please help me…’’

Junhoe squeezed his lips into a thin line and nodded. ‘’I will,’’ he replied brokenly. Donghyuk could clearly see that the man was aggressively holding back tears. ‘’We’ll take you somewhere and fix you up. After that, you can ask me anything, okay? Let’s get away from here now.’’

Donghyuk nodded slowly.

‘’Okay…’’ Junhoe said. ‘’I’m sorry, but…’’ he didn’t continue before getting up slightly to lean forward and wrapped his arms around Donghyuk’s form in a gentle hug, catching him slightly off guard. The hold was subtle enough to allow Donghyuk to push him off if he wanted, but he didn’t. ‘’I was so scared. I thought you got taken away by them again.’’

Donghyuk swallowed, failing to catch himself pressing his head unconsciously against Junhoe’s. ‘’But I didn’t.’’

The man pulled back and looked at Donghyuk’s face before a short nod.

‘’Can you walk?’’ he asked.

‘’Yeah…’’ Donghyuk answered and slowly got to his feet. His first step was onto his injured ankle and he staggered, but Junhoe was quick to step by his side for support. The dark haired carefully took his arm and set it around his own shoulders before leading him to the road. Jiwon was there along with his shiny black Hyundai, talking with Heejin before turning to look at the two stepping out of the alley. Donghyuk didn’t miss the raise of his eyebrows when his eyes landed onto his body.

‘’You’re going to get him proper help now?’’ Donghyuk could hear Heejin ask as Junhoe opened one of the car doors before helping him sit down on the back seat.

‘’Yeah, we will-‘’ It was the only part of Jiwon’s reply he could hear before the door was closed. Donghyuk leaned back on the seat and closed his eyes with a deep inhale. Junhoe walked around the car and opened the door on the other side of the back seats.

‘’Thank you. Really,’’ he said to the woman before getting in hurriedly. Jiwon also got to the driver’s seat and was already starting the vehicle before he had properly shut the door.

Opening his eyes, Donghyuk could catch one more glimpse of Heejin before the car started driving along the road.

‘’I can’t go to a hospital. They would find me,’’ he said.

‘’It’s okay, we know it too,’’ Junhoe replied.

‘’Shit dude, where is all that blood coming from?’’ Jiwon asked from the front and Donghyuk lowered his head to look at his red-stained shirt. He carefully lifted the hem, exposing the deep wound on his side.

‘’Jiwon…’’ Junhoe called, frowning as he saw the cut. ‘’It’s really deep. I think he needs stitches.’’

The driver of the car was quiet for a moment, taking a glance at them through the rearview mirror. ‘’It’s okay. Jinhwan can do it.’’

‘’Are you sure?’’ Junhoe asked.

‘’Well do you have lot of options?’’ Jiwon half rasped out.

The dark haired sighed deep. Donghyuk was staring at the window numbly, hands loosely on his lap.

‘’He realized I was having doubts about everything and that I had been talking with someone,’’ he suddenly said making Junhoe turn to look at him again. ‘’I guess he just wanted me to believe I was alone so that he could catch me red-handed.’’

‘’Donghyuk… Shit, I’m so sorry. I knew I shouldn’t have called you-‘’

‘’It’s alright,’’ he gave a weak, bittersweet smile. ‘’I guess things needed to be escalated anyway.’’

Jiwon then tossed something to Junhoe from the front seat. ‘’Press it on the wound just in case so that the kid won’t bleed to death.’’

Donghyuk looked over at a piece of a cloth, which Junhoe absently wrapped into a tight lump. ‘’I’ll do it,’’ he said silently and took the cloth from the man’s hands before placing it tightly against his side. Donghyuk had no idea how much he was bleeding but Jiwon’s words suddenly made him feel a worried twitch in his chest.

‘’What happened back there?’’ Junhoe asked after a while.

‘’He… he admitted it. That he had been lying,’’ Donghyuk answered, his gaze dropping. ‘’I had to fight my way out of there.’’

Junhoe opened his mouth to speak, but got stopped by a sound of ringtone in his pocket. Donghyuk gave him a glance before leaning his head against the window glass and closing his eyes.

‘’Yeah, it’s okay now. We found him,’’ he heard Junhoe say on the phone soon after. ‘’We’re now on our way back. Look, could you ask Jinhwan if he has equipment to suture a wound, I- No, he’s fine, okay? He’s with us right now… Christ, just calm down and ask him about the stuff! Donghyuk’s alright, but he’s injured and most likely needs to be stitched up. He’s going to be fine, okay? We’ll be there in ten.’’

‘’Twenty,’’ Jiwon called.

‘’Fifteen!’’ Junhoe burst out before the call seemingly ended because after that a silence landed inside the vehicle.

‘’…Where are we going?’’ Donghyuk asked while adjusting the fabric pressed on the wound.

‘’To a place we figured to be the safest possible. At least for now.’’ Junhoe’s voice suddenly sounded much more tired than before. Opening his eyes, Donghyuk turned his head slightly to look at the man carefully. Junhoe was leaning his head back, eyes closed and a hand placed on his forehead. He did notice the dark circles under the other’s eyes and another twitch was felt inside him.

_How worried must have you been all this time?_

Suddenly Donghyuk felt a huge urge to apologize. He wasn’t sure what for. The trouble? Not remembering any of the memories he could possibly have with the man?

The situation resembled the night he had been in the car with Yunhyeong after being picked up from the police station. How he had felt nothing but apologetic about the whole thing. Donghyuk switched on his spot slightly, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

He wasn’t going to apologize this time. Not just yet. He couldn’t do the same mistake again and blindly trust someone who showed him kindness. Even though the was a lot of proof for Donghyuk to believe that he and Junhoe indeed had a past he was going to keep up his guard. If needed, Donghyuk was ready to combat again.

‘’Do you know why all of this is happening?’’

‘’I really don’t,’’ Junhoe replied. ‘’What you told me over the phone really changes a lot. Look, we did follow you that day, I knew you went into that building. But not in a million years would I have believed that there could be an actual corporation behind everything… It was so easy to think that Yunhyeong had some obsession over you or something like that.’’

Donghyuk swallowed and then exhaled shakily. ‘’Can you help me figuring that out?’’

‘’I can. But there will be time for that later. First, I just want to be sure that you’re going to be alright.’’

Donghyuk nodded while focusing his gaze out of the window. ‘’Okay.’’

 

He drifted away for the rest of the car ride. He thought back at everything that had happened while being with Yunhyeong. He also thought about the man himself and whether he was going to be alright. Donghyuk wasn’t stupid, and what he had witnessed in the hospital, that hit Yunhyeong had received from his father, made him feel a bit of worry. Was Mr. Song going to hurt him because of this?

He wanted to feel bitter and angry towards the older for all the lies he had been telling him, but he still couldn’t fully do so. The good memories with Yunhyeong were still too fondly in his thoughts.

 

When the car finally slowed down, Donghyuk took an instinct to close his eyes. He suddenly felt scared again. He was in an unknown environment with people he didn’t know so well, wounded and physically weak. He was fully under the mercy of what Junhoe and Jiwon were going to do to him. Even though he tried to convince himself that there was no reason to be afraid now, he found it hard to trust pretty much anything.

After the car stopped, Junhoe made a move to get out of the vehicle before being stopped by Jiwon.

‘’Wait a second.’’

‘’What, why?’’

‘’There are some people back there,’’ Jiwon said. ‘’And if you wish to keep a low profile from now on, it will be quite an obstacle if we get spotted walking around with a guy covered in blood.’’

Junhoe cursed under his breath and they waited for a moment in silence.

‘’Okay, let’s move quick,’’ Jiwon said suddenly and the two doors opened instantly and Donghyuk was left alone in the car for a short while before the door beside him opened.

The two picked him up carefully but without wasting a second. His arms were wrapped around Jiwon’s and Junhoe’s shoulders before they started walking in a quick pace. If they had let go of him, Donghyuk was sure he would have collapsed onto the ground instantly. His legs were suddenly feeling like soft rubber.

 

They went up a block of stairs, and soon after he heard a knock right next to him as the two stopped on their tracks. Donghyuk unconsciously tightened his grip on Jiwon's shoulder.

The door opened and they were on a move again, the air around him gradually cooling down which meant he wasn't outside anymore.

"Are you guys sure no one followed you?" A strange voice asked right after they had passed the entrance.

"Yeah, I made a small curve during the way just to have that confirmed," Jiwon answered as the door was shut and Donghyuk heard a fondling of a lock.

"Take him to the bedroom, quickly," the voice said as they made their way further inside. Another door was opened before Junhoe and Jiwon slowed down. Jiwon removed Donghyuk's arm from around him and the two guided him to lay down on a mattress.

‘’Hey, you still there?’’ Junhoe’s voice asked soon after and Donghyuk slowly cracked his eyes open to see him leaning over him with a worried expression.

‘’For now,’’ he replied.

Junhoe nodded. ‘’Alright. Stay like that for a bit more.’’

Donghyuk focused his eyes on the ceiling above him as the man stepped away from his view.

‘’Okay, show me,’’ the strange voice said as someone entered the room with them. The hem of Donghyuk’s shirt was then lifted and he silently hissed from a sudden sting.

‘’Can you do it?’’ Junhoe asked and Donghyuk slowly turned his head towards the people in the room. He raised his eyebrows lightly as he recognized the third guy instantly, who was carefully checking his wound with a focused frown.

‘’I… Yeah, I think so,’’ he finally said and Donghyuk closed his eyes again, turning his face back towards the ceiling. ‘’Help me get this off,’’ the guy said, and then his shirt was carefully peeled off him. Donghyuk attempted to ease the task a little bit by lifting his body slightly, not really finding energy to be bothered about being bare. The fabric had started to feel uncomfortable sticking to his skin anyway.

There were sounds of moving before the third man spoke again.

‘’Junhoe, you got blood all over. You should go clean up.’’

‘’Huh? Oh… But-‘’

‘’He’s gonna be fine,’’ the guy interrupted before Junhoe got to speak any further. ‘’Just go.’’

There was a short silence before Junhoe spoke. ‘’Okay…’’ After that the door was opened as he left the room. Donghyuk opened his eyes slowly when he heard speaking again, this time silent and low as if the words were not meant to be heard by more than one person.

‘’Jiwon, look, I’m quite positive I can help him but I won’t be if I get interrupted. Can you make sure they won’t barge in here all of a sudden?’’

‘’Yeah, you got that,’’ Jiwon’s voice replied.

‘’And one more thing. Just… I don’t know, stay close by in case I need any help.’’

‘’Sure.’’

With that he could hear Jiwon exiting and shutting the door behind him. Donghyuk turned his head to see the unknown man standing beside a table and arranging some things.

‘’I saw you… back then. On the street,’’ he said with a raspy voice.

The man turned to him and when their eyes met Donghyuk was instantly brought back to the day he had been standing in front of the convenience store waiting for Yunhyeong. How he had got confused by a stranger staring at him from across the road.

‘’Yeah…’’ the man said and turned back towards the table. ‘’That was me.’’

‘’Who are you?’’

The guy took his stuff and carried it with him before kneeling beside the bed. ‘’I’m Jinhwan,’’ he said. ‘’I’ve been sort of involved with this… whatever this is, since the day I spotted you there.’’

Donghyuk watched how he smeared something onto his hands which reeked far enough for the other to guess it was some type of disinfectant.

‘’How did you get this wound?’’ Jinhwan then asked.

‘’I… There was glass. I escaped through a window,’’ Donghyuk said.

The man nodded while looking at the cut. ‘’It needs to be sutured, the glass got in there too deep.’’

Donghyuk swallowed and his hand unconsciously squeezed at the fabric he was laying on. ‘’Have you done it before?’’

‘’I have,’’ Jinhwan replied. Donghyuk took in a deep breath and turned his head away from the other.

‘’…Do we know each other? I mean… did we? Before.’’

‘’No, this is actually our first time talking to each other,’’ Jinhwan told and the other stiffened as he felt something on the wound. It turned out that the man was only cleaning it, though. ‘’I’m friends with Jiwon, known him since middle school days. I met Junhoe and Hanbin at his place one day maybe a month ago. They told me about you and showed your picture.’’

He finished up cleaning the cut and there was a short moment of silence with only some sounds of small objects being moved.

‘’Look, what I’m about to do is going to hurt. I really don’t have much anything to make it any easier. Do you think you can handle it?’’ Jinhwan asked.

‘’Y-yeah, I’m okay. Just… try to do it quickly,’’ Donghyuk answered.

‘’I’ll do my best, alright?’’ The man said, and Donghyuk inhaled silently, quietly preparing himself.

He couldn’t prevent the low groan forming at the back of his throat when he felt something like tweezers lifting his skin a little before something sharp stabbed through it. He crumpled his face tightly, his both hands harshly grabbing down.

‘’How bad is it?’’ Jinhwan asked with a clear worry in his voice.

‘’It r-really does hurt,’’ Donghyuk grunted. ‘’But… I’ll manage.’’ He gave a small nod of his head as if to allow the man to go on. His eyes were squeezed shut and he wasn’t even planning on looking over at what Jinhwan was doing. It felt like it would make the pain even worse.

‘’So… You recognized me because of that? Because of what Junhoe and…’’

‘’Hanbin.’’

‘’…and Hanbin showed you?’’ Donghyuk asked with the little assistance. He wanted to get his thoughts off the needle at his skin any way possible.

‘’Yeah,’’ Jinhwan said. ‘’I guess I have a pretty good face memory. I did have to take a good look at you before being sure, though. It’s been quite a chaos ever since.’’

‘’What do you mean?’’

‘’The idea of you being dead as the starting point, they got very desperate to find you. What happened between you and Junhoe out there was a total game-changer. Finding out that you had been held captivate all this time, you know…’’

Donghyuk then opened his eyes to look at the man. ‘’That’s not how it felt like.’’

Jinhwan’s narrow eyes met with his and he nodded shortly. ‘’Yeah, I guess that’s how it was supposed to be,’’ the man said and gave him a genuine, empathetic smile. Jinhwan then focused back on the wound, and after catching a small glimpse of a curve shaped needle in his hold, Donghyuk shut his eyes again.

‘’The wound isn’t too wide, so I think five stitches are going to be enough. I’m now knotting up the first one. You can handle four more, right?’’ the man asked and Donghyuk gave a nod as a reply. ‘’You’re doing great, just try not to tense your muscles.’’

The way Jinhwan spoke was captivating in a manner. His voice was calm, in a factual way. Like a small glimpse of sense in the middle of all the mayhem his life had been for the past hours. Donghyuk felt how his body was slowly stopping from trembling. As the pain on his side was getting more familiar it also got more bearable. Jinhwan was working on the suturing peacefully, clearly putting on an effort to cause as little pain as possible.

 

‘’You know what? I think we’re done here,’’ Jinhwan’s words made Donghyuk frown before looking over at him. He realized his mind had drifted away again, and he had been absent during the rest of the process. Not that it would’ve been a bad thing, though. He carefully lifted his head to look over at his side seeing five clean knots on the wound.

‘’How are you feeling?’’ Jinhwan asked, turning Donghyuk’s attention to him.

‘’I’m managing,’’ he said silently. ‘’I’m just… really tired.’’

If it hadn’t been for the sting from the needle, Donghyuk was pretty sure he would’ve burned out long ago. He didn’t want to fall asleep – for a reason he wasn’t sure of himself – but his eyelids had indeed turned much heavier with the adrenaline running out in his body and from staying awake for over a day straight.

‘’It’s okay. You should rest now,’’ Jinhwan said while cleaning off his stuff. ‘’You’ve been through a lot.’’

Donghyuk followed the other’s actions with his eyes, not saying anything. Jinhwan caught him staring and gave him a smile again. ‘’Nothing’s going to happen to you if you fall asleep. Out there are people that truly care about you. They will make sure you’re safe here.’’

Donghyuk took a glance at the door, then at Jinhwan’s petite face. Then, he closed his eyes slowly.

_No. Don’t fall asleep. Just rest your eyes._

_Don’t fall asleep._

He fell asleep shortly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Chapter contains violence

His own subconsciousness seemed to pull him out of the slumber as Donghyuk suddenly jolted awake. He opened his eyes wide, all tiredness in them leaving all at once. Blinking, Donghyuk frowned confusedly as he didn’t recognize his surroundings. Where was he?

His puzzlement didn’t manage to grow too big before he recalled what had happened. He was still in the same room he had fallen asleep in, the different lighting had only made the place seem unfamiliar to him. Instead of a bright ceiling light, the room was illuminated by a table lamp giving the surroundings an orangish shade.

Donghyuk lifted his upper body slightly, frowning as he felt a small stab at his side. He was still topless, he noticed, but now there was a thin blanket set over his body. Lifting the fabric, he saw a white patch taped gently over the stitched wound.

No one else was in the room and it was all quiet, peaceful even. He had no idea of how long he had been out until he saw a clock on the wall opposite from him. It was almost seven, most probably in the morning. It meant he had slept for a quite a few hours.

_Well done, Donghyuk. Well done._

The man sighed as he gave himself a sarcastic phrase inside his head. He really hadn’t meant to pass out like that. It had been careless considering the whole situation.

 

And yet… nothing had happened to him.

Donghyuk slowly sat up fully and casted his eyes onto his forearm when he saw a band-aid that hadn’t definitely been there before. His skin was covered with small scratches which all seemed cleaned.  

Donghyuk took a more proper look at his surroundings, and when his gaze landed to the nightstand next to him, he moved with a speed of light after spotting what was left on it. He grabbed a water bottle, hurriedly unscrewing the cap before drinking two thirds of the contents in one go, spilling some down his chin in his haste. He hadn’t even realized how dehydrated he had been.

After finally setting down the bottle, Donghyuk took a deep breath and turned to move his feet over the edge of the bed. He brought his hand up to rub his face, only to groan silently when he felt a small ache near his temple. Touching the area gently he thought back about the previous night. At Yunhyeong, who had gave him a punch with his fist. He felt a hard sting in his chest as he remembered the man’s expressionless gaze.

 

He didn’t want to think about it. Not yet. Donghyuk shook his head as if to get the thoughts of the man off his head, and pushed himself up onto his feet. He released a silent hiss at the pain on his ankle and sat back down to bring up his foot for a proper inspection.

‘’It’s not swollen, so it’s not broken…’’ he mumbled aloud while massaging his still aching ankle. Then he got up again, more carefully this time, looking around.

It was a basic single bed room, Donghyuk noticed. He saw a study desk next to the nightstand, and after limping closer he saw a few polaroid pictures on the wall with young people in them. He recognized of the faces.

 _So this is probably Jinhwan’s bedroom_ , he thought and gazed over the things on the desk. He then turned back towards the bed and stopped as he noticed a set of clothes folded at the foot.

 

After changing, Donghyuk drank the rest of the water from the bottle, this time noticing some painkillers that were left with it. He decided not to take any, however. He had some bad recent memories from pills.

Donghyuk then made his way to the window and opened the blinds. He saw a green hill in a distance, along with rooftops, a street down below with cars and trees. The outer side of the glass was covered in raindrops and the sky was cloudy.

Next to the window there was a mirror and Donghyuk moved in front of it to take a look at himself. He frowned as he saw the bruise next to his brow, darker than he could’ve thought. The face looking back at him looked miserable, drained. Almost unrecognizable.

 

Soon the man made his way to the door, carefully turning his head to listen if there were any sounds outside the room. It was quiet however, as if there was no one. But after pressing the side of his head against the wood he finally caught some distant talking, still unable to recognize the voices’ owners.

Biting his lip, Donghyuk backed away from the door making his way back to the bed. He sat down, crossing his feet onto the mattress and breathed in deep.

He knew what he was supposed to do, what he had to do. He should go out there and hear the answers about his identity. The real one.

However, he still felt too insecure and scared. Everything had happened so fast, and it felt like Donghyuk hadn’t been given proper time to process everything yet.

Pressing his head down, Donghyuk finally allowed his thought wander to Yunhyeong. As he instantly felt the pressuring sting on his chest, he swallowed hard.

When the thought of the man, the first memories to come to his head were all the good things. Instead of seeing the expressionless cold face from the previous night, he saw Yunhyeong’s smiling face, the way his lolled back every time he laughed, the safeness he had felt just from the man’s presence.

Donghyuk felt stinging behind his eyes and a lump on his throat.

 

_‘’I promise, I will always protect you, okay?’’_

_‘’Is there something I should be protected from?’’_

_‘’This world is an evil place. In this world, people are willing to cause harm on others for their own benefit. I want to keep you away from those people.’’_

 

Donghyuk shook his head as he remembered the conversation he had with drunken Yunhyeong the other night.

_No. He never was a bad person. He isn't like that._

But Yunhyeong wasn’t there anymore. He wasn’t by his side assuring him that everything was going to be alright. Instead, he had become someone Donghyuk had to avoid from now on. He was now a danger.

Taking deep breaths, Donghyuk tried to tell himself not to feel bad for Yunhyeong anymore. He had used his vulnerability to make him trust him blindly, fed him false information about Donghyuk’s true self, pretended to care for him-

Suddenly, without a warning, Donghyuk’s breath broke down into a silent sob. After that he didn’t hold himself back, allowing his emotions to finally give in after suppressing them ever since everything had fallen apart.

Donghyuk curled up on the bed, falling onto his not-injured side, and _cried_. He was still careful not to make sounds loud enough to be heard outside the room.

He went through everything from the previous night inside his head, allowing his sobs come out freely. He didn’t try to hold in the trembles of his body and the hitching of his breath. He needed to have his breakdown.

 

It took some time before Donghyuk finally calmed down. His crying eventually faded off, his eyes puffy and cheeks wet with tears. He continued to lay still for quite a while, however, staring at a wall with an empty expression before starting to think rationally again.

 

It was time to start doing things. After a few moments Donghyuk finally got up, wiping his face hastily and casting his eyes onto the door once again.

_You know what you need to do, Donghyuk._

Taking the deepest breath he got up on his feet. Approaching the door, Donghyuk stopped by the mirror to take another look at himself. Some evidence of his mental collapse was showing on his face, but it could pass as normal tiredness.

He stopped for another moment right behind the door, bringing his slightly sweaty palm to the knob. Nothing was going to happen if he just continued hiding there and he was well aware of that. It still didn’t remove the fact that Donghyuk was still slightly terrified.

 

Yet finally, silently, he twisted the knob and opened the door slowly. Not fully at first, taking a careful peek outside. He couldn’t see anyone however, and Donghyuk pulled the door fully open without making a sound. Before him he saw another door which was closed and to his right there was a short hallway. At the end of it he saw dimly flashing light and further away there was an entrance to another room. The lights were on in that one.

Taking a look around, Donghyuk stepped to the hallway and limped along it. It turned out that the flashing came from a tv screen as a living room appeared in front of him behind a corner. Something looking like a variety show rerun was playing on the screen and the volume was on so low that the television barely made a sound. Across from it, next to the wall was a couch. Jinhwan was on it, laying down and clearly asleep with his slightly open mouth and a blanket that was half dropped onto the floor.

Donghyuk realized that he was holding his breath and inhaled silently as he turned towards the entrance on the other side of the living room. He saw that it was a kitchen, the counters were visible to him. After taking another careful glance at Jinhwan as if to make sure that the man was indeed asleep, he walked closer until he heard talking from inside.

‘’Should I make another round?’’

‘’Hm?’’

‘’Of coffee?’’

‘’Yeah, sure.’’

The second voice was Junhoe’s, he was sure. Donghyuk bit his lip feeling a wave of heat flushing over him when he heard movement. He nearly jumped when a man stepped into his vision suddenly, his back towards the living room.

Building up his courage, Donghyuk walked forward until he had reached the entrance. The man was busy with a coffeemaker and didn’t see him arriving. Junhoe was sitting by the table, his other leg bent up onto the chair and eyes fixed on a laptop screen.

As Donghyuk was in the middle of contemplating whether he should try clearing his throat or say something, Junhoe’s eyes suddenly snapped up and met with his. Donghyuk flinched, opening his mouth but his voice got stuck in his throat from the surprise.

Junhoe straightened up, bringing his leg down and swallowed. ‘’Hey,’’ he said carefully.

The other guy halted immediately and turned around towards him. Meeting his eyes, Donghyuk recognized him from the pictures he had found in Junhoe’s profile.

His name was Hanbin.

‘’H-hey,’’ Donghyuk then uttered back quietly, his voice not working much for his favor.

‘’How are you feeling? Is your wound okay?’’ Junhoe asked as he got up. Donghyuk took a quick glance down at his side, nodding briefly.

‘’Yeah… I survived after all.’’

Junhoe gave small, relieved smile. ‘’That’s good. Is… is there anything you need?’’

‘’Water, please,’’ Donghyuk answered without hesitation, sheepishly smiling afterwards and casting his eyes down. ‘’There was some in the room, but I sort of drank all of it already…’’

‘’Sure. Hanbin?’’ Junhoe looked over at the other guy, who was still frozen on his spot, staring at Donghyuk nearly without blinking. Slowly, his mouth opened and he seemed to wake up from some type of trance.

‘’Oh… Ah, water-’’ he mumbled and turned sharply, opening a refrigerator and picking a bottle. Donghyuk slowly walked further into the room in to take it, his eyes locking with Hanbin’s.

‘’Thanks,’’ he said softly. Looking at Hanbin’s face, he suddenly came to realize that he was most probably watching a person who was seeing his friend for the first time after two months. After living with a thought that Donghyuk could be dead.

Immediately he wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure what. After all, he had no recall of Hanbin, as harsh as it sounded. He still felt incredibly sorry.

‘’You’re… Hanbin, right?’’ he finally asked and Hanbin nodded his head quickly.

‘’Are we..?’’

‘’Friends. Since the first grade of elementary,’’ Hanbin told, swallowing.

Donghyuk glanced at Junhoe. ‘’For sure?’’ he then asked. ‘’I’m kind of fed up with being lied to.’’

A careful smile rose to both of their faces.

‘’Hundred percent sure,’’ Junhoe replied. Hanbin also nodded.

‘’I, uhh... I was hoping that you could help me now. Tell me who I really am.’’ Donghyuk looked between the two, his hands fidgeting the water bottle in his grip.

‘’We’ve been waiting for you to come out and ask that, actually,’’ Junhoe told.

Donghyuk smiled weakly and nodded.

‘’Okay then.’’

 

They decided to move back to the bedroom to be able to talk in private. Donghyuk sat on the bed while Junhoe and Hanbin took seats on chairs across from him. Watching them, Donghyuk suddenly noticed the evident fatigue on both of their faces, their dark circles showing move clearly in the room’s lighting.

‘’So,’’ Junhoe began and shrugged his shoulders ‘’You can ask us anything.’’

Donghyuk nodded and thought for a moment. He wanted to start from the very basic, a question he was the most curious of.

‘’Do I have a family?’’

He watched how Junhoe’s gaze dropped for a moment. ‘’You did.’’

‘’You had mother and father, no siblings,’’ Hanbin told. ‘’However, when you were nine your father passed from an illness. Spinal cancer. You lived with your mother until she, uhh… She passed away as well, a little more recently in a car accident. That was around a year ago.’’

‘’Year and a month, precisely,’’ Junhoe added.

‘’Oh…’’ Donghyuk blinked his eyelids a few times, feeling some sort of sadness inside his guts. He had gotten used to the idea of having a family of a sort, and losing that fact made him feel somehow empty.

‘’You were close to your aunt and grandparents, though,’’ Hanbin continued. ‘’They live in Gyeonggi-do. They don’t know that you’ve been found yet.’’

Donghyuk didn’t answer. He stared at the floor silently while rubbing the back of his hand that was resting on his thigh.

‘’What…’’ He began but trailed off to think a little more. ‘’What kind of person I am?’’

His eyes met with both of them, and after glancing at Hanbin, Junhoe spoke. ‘’You were… How should I put this? You wer- _are_ a really thoughtful, kind person. You take a lot after your mother, actually. Like her, you always thought others first. You made friends really easily and you were really popular in high school. You’re smart, you always got good grades and were always in the top three of our class. You were into sports, too. Dancing, boxing, running, jujitsu, you did everything.’’

‘’Yeah, you are a really good person,’’ Hanbin phrased. ‘’You used to be really outgoing and always seemed so happy.’’

‘’Used to be?’’ Donghyuk raised his brows at the choice of words.

‘’Well, yeah... After what happened to your mother, a little of that part of you faded. It was really hard on you, since after all, it was the second time for you going through that. You really changed after she died. You dropped out of college because you couldn’t focus on your studies, started working at three part-time jobs, rarely allowing yourself a day off. It was clear that you wanted to keep yourself busy.’’

Donghyuk frowned at that, staying silent again as he progressed everything bit by bit, not wanting to proceed too fast. It seemed that Junhoe and Hanbin understood that, as neither of the two ushered him and didn’t open their mouths before Donghyuk asked another question.

‘’So… what about Yunhyeong? What does he have to do with me?’’

Hanbin shifted on his chair, squeezing his lips together as Junhoe crossed his arms over his chest, gazing down with a frown.

‘’To be completely honest… we don’t really know either. I mean-’’ Hanbin paused and waved his hand slightly in front of him while trying to find the right words. ‘’I don’t know what he was on about all that time but… you two were friends. At least that’s how it seemed.’’

‘’Since when?’’ Donghyuk asked curiously.

‘’Since… Last February?’’ Hanbin looked over at Junhoe, as if for confirmation, who nodded briefly.

‘’Yeah, about four months before you went missing.’’

‘’And?’’ Donghyuk raised his brows, continuously looking between the two. ‘’Please tell me everything you know about him. I think each detail could help me figure out why this is happening.’’

‘’Well,’’ Junhoe began, ‘’we don’t know too much about him because we never spent time with him. It was just you and Yunhyeong. I’m not even sure where he came from, he just suddenly was there. The first time I saw him was when I came to take over your shift at a convenience store we worked at. He was waiting for you and you two left together. Later when I asked about him you said that he’s just some guy you met recently.’’

‘’I also saw him only briefly for the first time. You two were sitting at a cafe one day when I went to get coffee. I had a short chat with you and him but didn’t want to bother for too long since you seemed to be occupied by something,’’ Hanbin shrugged his shoulders. ‘’You didn’t tell us much about him.’’

‘’There was this one occasion, though. Not too long before you disappeared, actually. One night he called me from your phone and told me that he had found you drunk at some club. He didn’t want to leave you by yourself, so I told him our address so that he could drop you off - Hanbin and I have been roommates since we started college. When you got there you were… well, absolutely wasted. Barely conscious. Yunhyeong helped you inside and before he left we finally got to talk to him. I, uhh…’’ Junhoe paused to breathe in a deep sigh, his eyes wandering somewhere between the opposite wall and the ceiling. ‘’I even thanked that bastard for helping you get your thoughts away from everything shitty. There really was nothing suspicious about him back then, I swear.’’

 

Donghyuk listened closely before hanging his head and bringing both of his hands to ruffle his hair in frustration. What he was told really didn’t make any sense to what was happening. ‘’Anything else?’’ he asked desperately.

‘’For all that we know, yes… Except for when you went missing,’’ Junhoe rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke. ‘’I digged his number and contacted him to ask if he’s seen you. He seemed really worried and told us to report you as a missing person to the police. The guy must’ve taken acting classes being so good at pretending to be a good person…’’

The last sentence came out as a silent, bitter mumble which made both Hanbin and Donghyuk to lift their gazes onto Junhoe who seemed to be avoiding both of their eyes with a slightly clenched jaw. Donghyuk swallowed and nodded slowly, pressing his head back down.

‘’He’s very convincing, yeah…’’ he said silently. Glancing at Junhoe’s face once more, Donghyuk thought back at their first encounter since his memory loss. He remembered the expression Junhoe had made when he had mentioned Yunhyeong’s name. What he had felt at that moment, could it be near to what Donghyuk had gone through the previous night? The piercing feeling of betrayal that had pushed through the fog of shock and fear, they both must’ve experienced it likewise.

‘’However, is it true that Yunhyeong is linked to that company? STH Pharma?’’ Hanbin suddenly inquired, leaning slightly forward and watching Donghyuk curiously.

‘’Yes,’’ Donghyuk answered nodding his head. ‘’He’s the son of the owner. They told me that Yunhyeong will be the leader of the company one day.’’

‘’Seriously?’’ Junhoe and Hanbin asked at the same time, with matching raises of brows.

‘’Why..?’’ Donghyuk glanced between the two, fidgeting his fingers slightly.

‘’Because that’s when it gets kinda creepy,’’ Hanbin bit his lip and crossed his arms over his chest. ‘’I’m sure Yunhyeong didn’t tell you that back then when you two had that friendship or whatever going on. You would have _detested_ his presence.’’

‘’What do you mean?’’ Donghyuk didn’t acknowledge how he had suddenly sat up straight.

‘’There is this thing about you and that exact company. Well, actually it started from your mother. She was a medical scientist and worked in cooperation with STH Pharma for some time until she parted from it. Saying that the company was run by some bad people she didn’t want to work with. But that was many years ago,’’ Junhoe narrated.

‘’But you still had that weird… stance at them ever since. You said stuff like people having anything to do with that firm were trash. Harsh stuff like that. It went on even after your mother’s death. For example, last January you caught a really bad cold. But you would go to three different pharmacies before getting your medicine, because you didn’t want to buy a product that had something to do with STH Pharma,’’ Hanbin continued, running a hand through his hair. ‘’We just thought of it as a boycott. If there was more to it, you never told us.’’

Feeling weirded out, Donghyuk frowned as he chewed the inside of his cheek.

‘’But why would they… do something like this to me? What do they want?’’ His words were addressed to partially no one as Donghyuk let his eyes wander on the floor in confusion. There were so many pieces to a puzzle, but each of them seemed to be different size and being impossible to connect in order to form a clear picture.

Along with feeling confusion and some sort of weird avidity from having heard bits of the true him, he was frustrated. What did he have to do with everything to have things turn out like this?

‘’And how did I disappear?’’ he suddenly asked.

‘’It happened in a flash,’’ Junhoe said with a shrug. ‘’One evening I came to work to take over your shift and you went home like any other day. But a few hours later you called both me and Hanbin. Neither of us could answer though, and when we texted back… that was it. You never replied. We later went to your apartment but you weren’t there. When we got your landlord to let us in all your most personal belongings were taken. Just like that, without a warning, you were suddenly just… gone.’’

‘’Had anything weird happened before that?’’

‘’No. Nothing out of ordinary.’’

‘’Maybe…’’ Hanbin suddenly uttered, turning the attention of the room to himself. ‘’We should wake Jiwon up. He should join the conversation from here.’’

  
  


It turned out that Jiwon had history as a detective who had however quit his job after only a couple of years of duty. The man still earned some pay from helping out solving stuff for others. Maybe not too legitimately, but still.

Another thing that Donghyuk found out was that the apartment they were staying at was indeed Jinhwan’s. With the sudden discovery of Donghyuk and the precarious turnout of it had driven the original trio to a hasty decision of crashing there as they found it the safest for now. Fortunately for them, Jinhwan hadn’t minded at all.

The small framed man stood by the kitchen entrance with a cup of coffee in his hand as Jiwon sat Donghyuk down on the living room couch and told him to go through what he had experienced. The four listened intently as Donghyuk told them everything - from the highway, police station, Yunhyeong and Chanwoo, Mr. Song, all the weird stuff that had been going on, the hospital, finally to the events that had lead to the turnout of the previous night.  

 

It might’ve as well taken him hours before he finished, he wasn’t keeping quite well on track with time as he spoke. No one was in a hurry, however, and the pondering expression on Jiwon’s face didn’t seem to drop even for a second.

Once he was done, Donghyuk paused to expect what they would say next. Jiwon was sitting in the middle of the living room on a chair he had pulled from the kitchen, his arms folded onto the backrest.

‘’Well…’’ the narrow eyed man finally started while his hand rubbed slightly onto his chin. ‘’That sure didn’t clear up a thing.’’

Donghyuk could feel his posture slumping lightly from the statement, a wave of disappoint flushing over him. ‘’Really?’’

‘’Really. Does it make sense? You were kidnapped and had your head emptied just to be part of this fucking family idyll?’’ Jiwon gave a dry emotionless chuckle. ‘’That just made them seem like a bunch of psychos.’’

Donghyuk glanced at his side at Junhoe who was sitting on the armrest of the couch. The expression on the man’s face was matching with Jiwon’s, however. Hanbin was the same, standing beside Jinhwan with his second cup of coffee. (Jinhwan was having his third - Donghyuk had seen them walking back and forth from the corner of his eyes during his narrative.)

Jinhwan was gazing over at Jiwon with a thoughtful face, looking like wanting to say something but stayed quiet. Donghyuk sighed.

‘’So we still don’t know what this all is about, huh?’’

‘’Yeah, there’s something really major we don’t know of,’’ Jiwon stated, raising his eyebrow at Junhoe. ‘’You don’t have any idea what that could be?’’

‘’Really, Hanbin and I had no idea something fishy was going on,’’ Junhoe’s tone suddenly sounded defeated. The man was clearly as frustrated as Donghyuk was.

‘’Maybe one of us knows,’’ Jiwon turned back towards Donghyuk. ‘’He just can’t remember what it is.’’

Donghyuk swallowed. The idea of having the answer to everything somewhere in himself was only adding fuel to his disillusionment. He had acknowledged it for a while now.

‘’Honestly, it’s kind of hard to come up with any theories with this information, but I think that your memories are gone because you knew something you shouldn’t have. I mean, what other reason could there be?’’ Jiwon gave a shrug as he got up from the chair. ‘’Apart from that, I don’t have the slightest idea of why they would think you’re so important to go to that extent. ‘’

Pouting, Donghyuk bent his knees to wrap his arms around them, hanging his head in defeat.

‘’So, what now?’’ Hanbin asked.

‘’We need more time to think this through,’’ Junhoe replied. ‘’Maybe Donghyuk will remember something.’’

‘’I don’t think I will…’’ Donghyuk suddenly stated. ‘’It’s been quite a while now, nothing has come back. Even after I quit taking those pills.’’

He could hear Junhoe sighing. ‘’We will come up with something, then.’’

‘’I don’t think the pills really had a role to anything,’’ Jinhwan suddenly spoke after taking a sip of his coffee. Donghyuk looked up at him questioningly.

‘’I mean it seems like they came up with lots of stuff to make everything seem more sound to you. Like the police station for example, it really wasn’t necessary. But it sure made it more realistic like that, right?’’

Donghyuk bit his lip, thinking back to the said night.

 

_‘’How did you know I was here?’’_

_‘’Someone gave a hint. You don’t have to worry about that.’’_

 

‘’Yeah, if it was like that, it really worked.’’

‘’The pills might’ve been the same. Just some regular vitamins or something like that. To keep the act going,’’ Jinhwan said. Jiwon nodded in agreement, arms crossed over his chest and eyes down on the ground.

‘’So the police that I met were in it as well?’’ Donghyuk gave a look at each of them.

‘’It’s possible. If you own one of the top companies of the country, it’s not really that hard to bribe people into your favor,’’ Jiwon said. ‘’And, if Junhoe and Hanbin had been contented with how the officials handled your case, do you think they would have come to me?’’

The question made Donghyuk look at Junhoe, who swallowed and shook his head. ‘’The police didn’t do shit. Like they didn’t even care.’’

Donghyuk pulled his knees closer as he recalled the police station. The chief he had thought as a good person, who had made him feel safe for the first time, could’ve been acting the whole time. Knowing that everything was intentional, he still could look at Donghyuk in the eyes reassuringly like that.

He felt something boiling up inside him. It could’ve been some form of hatred this time.

‘’So now they’ve got the whole law enforcement against me?’’ he suddenly asked, his new, slightly irritated tone making everyone turn to look at him.

‘’We can’t be sure yet. I’m just saying it’s possible,’’ Jiwon answered calmly. ‘’Let’s just not march into a police station just yet, alright?’’

Inhaling deep, Donghyuk only nodded.

‘’By the way, that time when you went to the head building and met Song Taehoon, do you recall anything out of ordinary happening there?’’ Jiwon questioned suddenly.

‘’I- No. I already told you, he only asked about my condition. Nothing strange,’’ Donghyuk shook his head.

‘’Are you sure, though? _Anything_?’’

He frowned as he thought carefully. Then, he shook his head again. ‘’I am sure. Other than…’’ he paused for a moment. ‘’Yunhyeong was acting really strange there. He was really tense and seemed to be in a bad mood. We even had a small argument afterwards. It wasn’t anything like him.’’

Jiwon nodded and ruffled his hair. ‘’Each answer I get only raises more questions. This is frustrating as hell, really…’’ the man mumbled.

Donghyuk met eyes with Hanbin who was leaning against a wall. It looked like the undersides of the man’s eyes had suddenly gotten several shades darker.

‘’Maybe we should continue this later. This is quite a lot of information to take in at once. I also need a smoke,’’ Jiwon suddenly stated, making his way towards the apartment door without waiting for a reply. ‘’Jinhwan you wanna come?’’

‘’Sure,’’ Jinhwan replied and soon after the two had disappeared outside. Silence then landed inside the room.

 

Looking between Junhoe and Hanbin quietly, Donghyuk straightened up and opened his mouth. ‘’Did you guys get any sleep last night?’’

‘’Yeah, don’t worry. I slept for…’’ Junhoe paused in the middle of his process of rubbing his eyes with the balls of his hands. ‘’...I slept.’’

Donghyuk gave a soundless sigh, understanding that it must’ve been a while since the two had got a proper rest. ‘’Maybe you guys should go and sleep some more,’’ he suggested. ‘’I also feel like taking some rest. This has been quite draining to be honest.’’

He wasn’t lying. All the thinking had swallowed up so much energy he felt like he had just run a few laps. He also felt sorry towards Hanbin and Junhoe now that he was able to see the tiredness clearly on their faces. Knowing that it was all because of him, Donghyuk felt even worse.

He watched how Hanbin slowly nodded. ‘’Okay. Sure. You should.’’

Donghyuk got up from the couch, passing Junhoe as he went back towards the bedroom. He reminded himself that he needed to figure out where he should place himself later, since he had been using Jinhwan’s bedroom which made him feel a bit bad. Jinhwan had done enough for him already. For now, though, he let it slide as he just wanted to lay down for a moment.

Before opening the door, Donghyuk paused and turned back towards the two. ‘’I…’’ he began, the words getting stuck in his throat. Junhoe and Hanbin looked at him expectantly as Donghyuk realized that he forgot what he was supposed to say. He still felt like he needed to say something.

‘’I…’’ he tried again, swallowing lightly. ‘’Thanks.’’

He gazed at the pair’s expressions quickly, not staying to wait for a reply as he grabbed the handle and stepped in the bedroom, closing the door and leaning his back against it.

‘’And I’m sorry,’’ he whispered.

  
  


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  
  
  
  


The room had always given him a sense of danger. The dark decoration was enough to give him anxiety, let alone the person it belonged to. All the memories he had from the place were rather unpleasant, which added more anguish to his thoughts every time he visited the place.

The feeling was even stronger now, as Yunhyeong couldn't be sure whether he was able to walk out of there with his own two legs.

His father was sitting at his office table, reading through some papers like in any other situation. Yunhyeong knew, however, that it was only the calm before storm. So did Chanwoo for sure, who was standing beside him in front of the CEO.

Neither of the two brothers dared to look up from the ground, not even when their father finally broke the pressuring silence by clearing his throat.

"Yunhyeong, could you enlighten me? Exactly how long has it been since we cleared Kim Donghyuk?"

The oldest of the two didn't reply. He knew how it went - any type of answer was only adding fuel to the fire. It had taken a ridiculously short time for everything to fall down. But that’s what the CEO wanted to hear from Yunhyeong’s own mouth, as if to give him a reason to do whatever the man thought would be an appropriate punishment.

"Why? Was my question too difficult for you?" The man's tone was slightly mocking. "Let me ask another one, then. Where is Kim Donghyuk right now?"

Yunhyeong swallowed. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" his father repeated. "Therefore... he could be anywhere. Isn't that right?"

"Yes."

The man stood up slowly and gave a heavy, tired sigh.

"And how is that possible?"

Yunhyeong inhaled silently before answering. "It seems that he... figured out the scam."

"So he escaped, hm? I heard he was keeping contact with someone."

He didn’t look up, but Yunhyeong could still feel his father looking at him. It felt like the man’s eyes were burning holes on him.

"It seems like i-" His words were interrupted by loud clashing noise when the items on the CEO's table were shoved off with a harsh swing of an arm.

"Seems like it!" The man yelled. "How could that happen? How was it possible for him to communicate with someone without anyone noticing?!"

"It was..." Yunhyeong hesitated, "It was my mistake. I wasn't keeping an eye on him well enough."

"It sure was," his father answered with a suddenly calm but low voice. "Just wait. I'm not finished with you yet."

Glancing up, Yunhyeong could see the man walking from behind his desk, approaching now the youngest of the two.

"Chanwoo..." the CEO called. "What did I tell you to do when we started this?"

Yunhyeong eyed at his brother who didn't budge. "To stay with Yunhyeong and make sure everything goes well," Chanwoo answered calmly.

"And did you do that?"

"No."

A loud smack echoed through the office. Chanwoo still didn't make a single movement, however.

"And what's the reason for that?"

"Because this issue is none of my business," Chanwoo stated. This time he received a hard punch on the face. He staggered to the side, colliding lightly with Yunhyeong’s body. But that was it. The younger regained his posture without a word. Yunhyeong wasn’t sure which was more hurtful; the several memories of his brother's cries of pain, or the fact that Chanwoo no longer reacted to their father’s hands on him.

"Ungrateful brat," the CEO spat out. "If it wasn’t for your stupidity we wouldn't be in this situation right now."

As much as Yunhyeong wanted to protest, he couldn't. If he wanted to avoid broken bones it was better to simply shut up. But still, Chanwoo was saying what was right. They were both first promised that the younger didn't have to get involved.

The CEO turned to walk away from them, mumbling to himself while approaching the leather seats. He unbuttoned his blazer and threw it over one of the backrests before beginning to roll up the sleeves of his white collar shirt.

"Chanwoo, get out," the man said. This time the younger hesitated as he didn't make a move to obey. Yunhyeong gave him an invisible nudge.

"What are you doing?" He whispered under his breath.

"Get out!" Their father commanded with louder, stricter, more demanding tone.

"Don't make it worse for yourself," Yunhyeong mumbled so silently that it could pass as a hum to anyone that wasn't standing as close to him as Chanwoo.

The younger finally moved taking a step back and turned towards the office door. Yunhyeong saw Chanwoo taking a look at him but didn’t return the gaze.

Soon the door closed behind him which finally made Yunhyeong remove his thoughts from the younger. The silence that landed in the room reminded him of the danger, the anguish, as his father slowly turned towards him.

‘’What are you?’’ the man asked and his son blinked a few times, not quite frankly understanding what his father wanted to hear.

‘’This company is something your grandfather sacrificed his entire life establishing, which I then inherited and worked night and day to bring it to its current glory. And what are you? Trying to sabotage all that effort.’’

Yunhyeong felt heat rising on his face. The words nearly paralyzed him for a moment as he realized what kind of trouble he had got himself into.

 _Sabotage_.

‘’F-father… I would never-’’ Yunhyeong began, trailing off for a short while. ‘’This situation does seem unfavorable, however… It was not intentional to have it go this way.’’

The CEO stared at him incisively, in a way that finally made Yunhyeong feel fright. He suddenly knew for sure how this would end.

‘’I will fix everything, I promise,’’ he assured as his father started walking towards the corner of the office. Yunhyeong felt his heartbeat intensify. ‘’We can still find him. He doesn’t have to cause us any damage.’’

‘’You know, back at the hospital, didn’t you assure that there would be no further issues with that son of a bitch?’’ His father asked lowly. ‘’I am now getting fed up with your empty words.’’

Yunhyeong swallowed hard as the man reached at the very corner, which was slightly covered with a curtain. As he turned back, Yunhyeong saw him holding a slender cane made of hard maple, an object he was unpleasantly familiar with.

The sight of it made Yunhyeong instinctively lose all the pride that might’ve been left in him as he instantly dropped down onto his knees, casting his eyes down at the ground.

‘’Father, please forgive me. I acknowledge my mistake and will reflect on it in order to do better from now on. Something like this won’t happen again.’’

Footsteps approached him slowly, making Yunhyeong squeeze his hands into fists on his thighs. Soon the end of the cane landed in front of him with a loud knock, intentionally right in his view. Yunhyeong then heard the CEO sigh deep.

‘’As much as I am disappointed in you, you know I can’t fully blame you on this, Yunhyeong. If it wasn’t for your mother - that _witch_ \- that ruined you with her dirty blood, you wouldn’t commit this kind of flaws.’’

Yunhyeong clenched his jaw when a feeling of his eyes starting to water came to him from the mention of his mother.

‘’N-no…’’ he uttered. ‘’That’s not it.’’

‘’Oh? So what you’re saying is that you made yourself this kind of letdown?’’ his father asked.

‘’Mother is not the reason.’’

‘’Liar!’’

His father’s shout was followed by Yunhyeong’s cry of pain as the man swung his cane, hitting his son on the middle back. Yunhyeong fell forward, landing onto his forearms with his face forming a deep grimace.

‘’I know exactly what you did to have this happen! You disobeyed my orders just like that bitch always did! And because of that, Kim Donghyuk is out there about to ruin everything!’’

Yunhyeong yelped as another swung hit him, right at the same spot which doubled the pain.

‘’Why! Do you! Keep! Wasting! My! Time! Like this!’’ The CEO hit him with each word, over and over again, as he finally completely lost his cool, taking all his aggression out on his son who had turned into a helpless groaning, begging mess.

 

The office was filled with the sound of continuous whacks along with Yunhyeong’s wordless cries and weak pleads. His father knew exactly where to strike him to cause a lot of pain yet little damage. Yunhyeong laid on his side arms protectively over his head and legs bent close to his abdomen, unable to do anything else than to take all the hits and wait until his father had enough.

It always felt like he knew the point where Yunhyeong started to feel like he was going to physically break into pieces, taking him to the edge of his capacity before stopping at once. Yunhyeong wasn’t allowed to take even a proper inhale, however, before he felt a hand grabbing his hair roughly, forcing him to stumble back up onto his knees.

‘’Listen carefully,’’ his father said lowly, leaning down to speak right next to his face and keeping his hold on Yunhyeong’s locks. ‘’Even a son can become useless to his father if he can’t act properly. Do you understand my words?’’

‘’Yes…’’ Yunhyeong answered, voice breathless and shaky.

‘’I am giving you one more chance to prove your worth for me and the company. You will do whatever it takes to get him back.’’

‘’Yes,’’ he said again, groaning when the CEO tugged his hair making him lean his head back slightly.

‘’Repeat what I just said.’’

‘’I will… do w-whatever it takes… to find Donghyuk.’’

The hand on his hair let go, and there was a loud clattering sound as the hard maple cane was dropped. Yunhyeong collapsed back onto the floor meanwhile his father made his way out without a word, leaving the beaten man by himself.

 

Yunhyeong’s entire body was trembling and breath hitching. It felt like there wasn’t a single inch on his body that wasn’t hurting. He attempted to hold himself up only to have his arms fail him and he lied down on the floor defeated.

He rolled onto his back slowly, even though his ribs and back had taken most impact which made the move nearly unbearably painful. Yunhyeong stared up expressionlessly taking in deep, stable breaths, silent groans passing his lips from time to time.

 

He didn’t move his gaze even when after some time a sound of footsteps approached him.

‘’So, you’re alive after all,’’ Chanwoo declared. ‘’Honestly this time I really thought he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back.’’

Yunhyeong didn’t reply.

‘’Get up,’’ Chanwoo said after a sigh.

‘’Fuck off,’’ Yunhyeong mumbled, not casting a single glance towards the younger’s direction.

‘’Ah, so you prefer laying here for the rest of the day? Honestly I am not surprised since you’ve never had an issue with being his doormat anyway.’’

This time Yunhyeong gave the other a glare. He didn’t say anything, though. Chanwoo never considered the time or place before throwing his snarky comments. The older was used to that.

‘’You really can’t get up, huh?’’ Chanwoo then questioned and Yunhyeong shut his eyes, hoping that his brother would just give up and walk off.

It didn’t happen, however, and Yunhyeong let out a loud groan when the younger got down to pull him up.

‘’Shit-!’’

‘’I know, I know,’’ Chanwoo hummed as Yunhyeong stumbled onto his feet with the younger’s assistance.

 

‘’Here.’’ Chanwoo dropped a small bag onto a table next to the couch Yunhyeong was laying on. The older knew it would contain products that would ease the ache on body but he didn’t bother to make a single move. He eyed the room, which was two floors lower than their father’s office, mainly used by the two brothers in these very type of occasions.

Even though Yunhyeong was in a lot of pain - and would be for a long time - he was still sort of glad that for once, he was the one laying there hurt and bruised and not the other way around, like it was most cases.

Chanwoo sat down on the opposite couch and leaned back sighing.

‘’Hyung, I just can’t… How could anyone fuck up that bad?’’

Yunhyeong swallowed. He still wasn’t in a mood for talking so he continued to stay silent, eyes fixed tightly on the ceiling.

‘’Why were you so good to him?’’ Chanwoo questioned further. ‘’He’s an enemy.’’

‘’He’s not-’’ Yunhyeong started his defense instantly, stopping himself from speaking further. ‘’It’s not the case.’’

‘’It is! Now that he’s out there, he can destroy everything your whole life is based on,’’ Chanwoo’s voice suddenly sounded irritated.

‘’He doesn’t know that,’’ Yunhyeong answered with a light shake of his head.

‘’Are you really that sure? If he really is with people that know him, it won’t take very long before he finds out the truth.’’

The older inhaled silently and brought up his hand to rest it on his forehead.

‘’Donghyuk doesn’t give a shit about you,’’ Chanwoo suddenly stated. ‘’He already proved it the night all this started. He is going to hate you again once he realizes what’s going on.’’

‘’It doesn’t matter. This isn’t about me,’’ Yunhyeong replied silently.

‘’It is about the general manager, and you being his eldest son, it very much is about you.’’

Yunhyeong didn’t remember when he last time heard the word _father_ from Chanwoo’s mouth. It had to be several years ago.

‘’He is going to kill me anyway if we can’t get Donghyuk back in time.’’

‘’He said so?’’

‘’Indirectly yeah.’’

Chanwoo sighed. ‘’He won’t. He has invested too much time on you already.’’

Yunhyeong supposed the younger was right. Their father often controlled them and his employees with fear. It had turned out to be the most effective method, anyway.

 

After a brief moment of silence Chanwoo spoke again.

‘’Hyung, I know you’re trying to avoid the fact that eventually, Donghyuk has to die.’’

The words felt like a stab of a sword through his chest. Yunhyeong swallowed hard before answering. ‘’I’m just trying not to think about that, is that wrong?’’

‘’Sort of. The general manager will get him killed sooner or later. And everyone else that might get involved. So why won’t you try not to care about him? It will be less painful for you in the end that way.’’

Yunhyeong parted his lips to speak, but trailed off while his eyes wandered around the ceiling above him.

‘’Honestly I would think that you purposely let him get away, but not even you could be that stupid.’’

Chawoo’s words brought him back to the previous night, how he had stopped where the forest had started, watched how Donghyuk’s back quickly distanced from him, and then turned to walk back to the house. Yunhyeong didn’t say anything, however. Chanwoo couldn’t read from his expression either.

_Donghyuk, please disappear for now. Don’t let me find you._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here, I think this fic is going to be on a short hiatus as I find it hard to write only angst all the time. I have another fic in works at the moment which I'm planning to focus on more to get more inspiration for this one. 
> 
> I will update this sooner or later, though! Please stay patient ^^ I'm very fond of the story myself and I have decided that I will write this till the end. 
> 
> (I started this fic originally at the end of 2016 on aff and it's been really hard some times due to my concentration issues)


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